Weekly Review #207 - an international award for HKIA

First up, Hong Kong International Airport has won a top international award for its airport-wide Digital Apron and Tower Management System. As the first in the world to deploy such a large-scale digital system for airport operations, HKIA won the 2023 ACI World–Amadeus Technology Innovation Awards for 'Best Innovation in Airport Operations and Installations Management'. 

Next, we have news of ANSL selecting Muir Matheson Aviation for its MET system upgrade at Edinburgh Airport. The upgraded system provides air traffic controllers with data on the current weather, visibility, and any hazards. Controllers will also be able to input local weather observations into the wider network, so operational planning staff can make better informed decisions.

In news from the UK, SESAR JU partners held an open day to improve the efficiency of arrivals. The event was held at the NATS research and development lab and featured discussions and presentations from NATS, EUROCONTROL, NLR, DLR, Skyguide, FABEC and Boeing.

And last but not least, we have a new episode of our podcast Radar Contact. This week, we sit down with John Franklin, Head of Safety Promotion at EASA, to discuss safety in Air Traffic Management.

Airports news

• Digital Apron and Tower Management System at Hong Kong International Airport wins award for technology innovation - The Civil Aviation Department and Airport Authority Hong Kong jointly implemented the Digital Apron and Tower Management System at Hong Kong International Airport.
• HKIA is world’s first to deploy airport-wide digital system - Hong Kong International Airport has won a top international award for its pioneering airport-wide Digital Apron and Tower Management System. HKIA is the first in the world to deploy such a large scale digital system for airport operations.

Market news

• ANSL selects Muir Matheson Aviation for MET system upgrade at Edinburgh Airport - Air Navigation Solutions Limited has selected Muir Matheson Aviation Ltd. to upgrade the Meteorological Information Management system at Edinburgh Airport.

Context information

• Aviation regulator launches recruitment campaign to inspire future aviation professionals - The UK Civil Aviation Authority today released its latest initiative aimed at inspiring the next generation of aviation and aerospace professionals: a captivating careers video.
• Psychology of Modern Learners and Virtual ATC Training - In this blog post, we will explore how virtual ATC training aligns with the learning preferences of today's students and how it enhances their educational journey.

Reports and data

• Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic - Traffic development: May 2023 - Traffic development in the airspace of the Czech Republic (FIR Prague): Number of movements 2022: 50 649; Number of movements 2023: 54 150; Traffic comparison 2023/2022: + 6,9%. Traffic development at Prague Airport: Number of movements 2022:8 885; Number of movements 2023:9 954;Traffic comparison 2023/2022: 12%

Research and innovation

• Concept of operations for higher airspace published - SESAR JU - A concept for operations for higher airspace is now available! Delivered by the SESAR 3 JU ECHO project, led by EUROCONTROL, the ConOps defines future operational roles, responsibilities, procedures and infrastructure required to support higher airspace demand over the short, medium and long term.
• SESAR offers solution to optimise runway occupancy - SESAR JU - In the coming years the increase in air traffic will automatically lead to an increase of the number of flights at a given airport. Aviation experts estimate that in the coming 20 years around 60 % of the top 100 airports will face congestion. Due to various reasons, it becomes more and more difficult to expand airport infrastructure, such as constructing new runways. For this reason, airports have to optimise the utilisation of runways so as to be able to cope with future traffic growth. This is the objective of SESAR Solution Dynamic pairwise separation based on airborne runway occupancy time prediction. This solution (# PJ.02-W2-14.11) is being developed with partners led by Airbus within the framework of SESAR 2020 project on airport airside and runway throughput (AART).
• New Digital Sky Demonstrators to focus on automation and virtualisation in air traffic management - SESAR JU - Three SESAR 3 JU Digital Sky Demonstrators representing a total investment of EUR 138 million will get underway in the areas of automation and virtualisation, it was announced on 23 June. The announcement is part of a larger package of transport infrastructure funding under the Connecting Europe Facility adopted by the Commission.
• Smoother and more sustainable arrival and runway operations - ITARO presents demonstration results - SESAR JU - On 8 June, an online event was organised by SESAR 3 Joint undertaking member, Royal NLR, to elaborate on the activities and main results achieved by Royal NLR within the SESAR2020 PJ.37 ITARO (Integrated TMA, Airport and Runway Operations) project.
• SESAR partners put spotlight on solutions to improve efficiency of arrivals - SESAR JU - On 15 June, an open day was held at NATS research and development lab in the UK to share the research and demonstration work undertaken on arrival management streaming and pairwise separation in approach. The outcomes and developments were presented and discussed among SESAR partners, NATS, EUROCONTROL, NLR, DLR, Skyguide, FABEC and Boeing.

UAV and UTM

• Canada proposes regulatory framework for BVLOS operations, drone management portal - Unmanned airspace - Canada’s transport minister has tabled a regulatory proposal that would allow operations with a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) up to 150 kg to be flown within visual line-of-sight and introduce rules for routine beyond visual line-of-sight operations with an RPA up to 150 kg over sparsely populated areas, at low altitudes, and in uncontrolled airspace.
• Eurocae, RTCA agencies update minimum standards for airborne collision avoidance - Unmanned airspace - European standards agency Eurocae has published ED256A, updating the minimum standards for airborne collision avoidance system X (ACAS X), ACAS XA and ACAS XO. ED-256A was developed jointly by EUROCAE Working Group 75 ‘Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems’ and US standards agency RTCA SC-147, and was approved by the Council of EUROCAE on 21 June 2023.
• SESAR 3 JU publishes second open call for Digital European Sky research projects - Unmanned airspace - The SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking has published the second open call addressing exploratory research within the framework of its Digital European Sky research and innovation programme.