The Olympic games are now taking place. I thought the opening ceremony was brilliant and impressive, even if it triggered some discussions. But from an aviation perspective, there was one thing missing...
For a long while, the promise was the same: air taxis would be flying in Paris for the games. And I expected to see at least a static one during the ceremony. They can't yet fly at night or in bad weather, which I understand. But a static one would have been nice.
Now, a few days after the ceremony, and with nice weather, there's still no air taxi in sight. The French government released a decree, authorizing Volocopter's VoloCity as the only type of aircraft that could land on the newly created platform near the Austerlitz bridge, in the city center. The decree is pretty restrictive, with operations only allowed from 9 am to 5 pm and limited to two movements per hour. In aviation terms, a landing is a movement and a take-off is a movement too, which limits the activity at that temporary Vertiport to one flight per hour.
The city of Paris tried to question this decision but got no formal answer. And, the fundamental decision has been postponed until this autumn. So, nothing is preventing operations, at least from a legal point of view.
Volocopter has had multiple demonstration and test flights recently, and even if certification for commercial operation during the games has not been achieved, the latest plans were based on flying passengers to and from the new Vertiport at Austerlitz. However, no details were given about where flights should operate to and from. Integration into the traffic of CDG, Orly and Le Bourget certainly creates some challenges. Pontoise and Issy-les-Moulineaux could be candidates as well. And, what about local flights?
For now, there is no air taxi in sight. Not even one on static display and everybody is very, very quiet about this. Was it an illusion from the beginning? Did something change at the last minute? Does this relate to regulation or is it related to Volocopter's financial challenges? It is impossible to say at the moment but we'll be keeping our eyes on it...
In the meantime, why not take a look at our latest blog post? We explore human factors, AI and how to strike a balance.
Vincent
ANSP news
- NAV CANADA Announces Retirement of President and CEO- NAV CANADA today announced the retirement of Raymond G. Bohn as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company effective October 31st, 2024. Raymond Bohn has held the position since February 2021 and led the company through a period of considerable challenge. He served NAV CANADA for over 24 years, having delivered transformational changes in various leadership positions throughout the company.
- Two-figure traffic growth for the first half of the year 2024 - Skyguide- Skyguide managed and monitored 628 205 flights under instrument flight rules (IFR) in the first half of 2024. This represents a year-on-year increase of 12.8%, and a decline of 0.5% with respect to the first half of 2019. Traffic in the airspace above Switzerland and in the delegated areas managed by Skyguide increased at a two-figure rate (10%-14%) every month
- Airservices Australia calls for community feedback on draft Ballina airspace and flightpath design changes- Airservices Australia is inviting the community to have its say on preliminary airspace and flightpath design changes around Ballina Byron Gateway Airport
- NATS signs cooperation agreement with Saudi air traffic provider- The framework agreement enables SANS and NATS to work more effectively together, laying the groundwork for collaboration on airport capacity enhancement and technology integration. The agreement also recognises the importance of fostering talent development in the industry with further discussions planned on creating opportunities for young professionals through a new graduate scheme.
- Plans to upgrade airspace unveiled by UK regulator- Publication of the plan signifies a crucial step forward with the UK Civil Aviation Authority setting out the key activities and milestones the industry and regulator will need to deliver together, alongside the regulatory frameworks it will set.
- FAA and NATCA Reach Agreement to Address Controller Fatigue by Providing More Rest Between Shifts- Today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced an agreement with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) to ensure air traffic controllers receive adequate rest between shifts and can continue to safely do their essential work. This agreement will enable the implementation of long-term, systematic changes following the identified opportunities in the report from a panel of experts.
Airport news
- All Runways at Frankfurt Airport Operational Again since 7:50 AM Following Closure due to Climate Protests- This morning, climate activists gained illegal access to Frankfurt Airport. The German Federal Police and the Hesse State Police, in cooperation with Airport Security and Frankfurt Airport’s fire and emergency department, responded immediately to the incident. For safety reasons, flight operations had to be temporarily suspended for the entire airport as a result of the incident. Since 07:50 AM, all runways have resumed operations.
Market news
- MaxSim ATC Simulation Training System Successfully Passes Elevate Aviation Site Acceptance Testing- Adacel Technologies Limited. (Adacel or the Company), an industry leader in advanced air traffic management (ATM) and air traffic control (ATC) simulation and training systems, is pleased to announce the dual mode Tower and Radar MaxSim system delivered to Elevate Aviation has successfully passed the Site Acceptance Testing
- Tern Systems receives a SESAR grant- Tern Systems Aware project has been awarded a 637.000 EUR SESAR grant from the European Union Horizon fund. The grant is awarded to Tern Systems to conduct research and development on human-machine collaboration with artificial situational awareness to provide appropriate supportive actions to the air traffic control officers (ATCOs). The research project has been named AWARE and its goal is to enable human-machine collaboration by using an artificial situational awareness
Context information
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $374 Million in Grants to Improve Airports- The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced more than $374 million for airfield, safety, and other improvement projects at 299 airports in 46 states and American Samoa.
- Our Commitment – Our Engagement – Our Responsibility – YOUR SAFETY! – IFATCA- The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA), representing 43 Air Traffic Controllers’ Professional Associations across Europe and more than 20,000 Air Traffic Controllers (ATCO), take note of unfair and negative comments aimed at the profession of air traffic control. IFATCA does appreciate that air traffic controller staff shortages are finally recognised as one of the most important delay contributors in the European Network.
- EUROCAE Annual Report 2023-2024- The latest edition of the Annual Report recounts the activities performed at EUROCAE from May 2023 to April 2024. The reader will get an overview of the Working Groups, the new activities we have launched, the engagement with other European and international bodies, and EUROCAE's presence at international events.
Reports and data
- NAV CANADA reports June 2024 traffic figure- In June 2024 weighted charging units were higher on average by 5.3 percent compared to the same month in 2023. Weighted charging units represent a traffic measure that reflects the number of billable flights, aircraft size and distance flown in Canadian airspace and is the basis for movement-based service charges, which comprise the vast majority of the Company’s air traffic revenue.
UAV and UTM
- Airservices Australia calls for industry feedback on front-end services in cutting-edge drone traffic management ecosystem- Airservices Australia is seeking feedback from technology providers to inform how the organisation can best support the development of digital services to drone operators, as part of Australia’s future drone traffic management ecosystem. These innovative software solutions will ensure the safe growth of the burgeoning drone industry – as part of the broader drone traffic management ecosystem – and connect to Airservices’ new Flight Information Management System (FIMS), expected to go live in late 2025.
- Paris Olympic sites intercepting six drones per day - Unmanned airspace- French security forces guarding sites set to be used in the Paris Olympics, which gets underway later this week, are intercepting an average of six drones per day, France24 quotes Prime Minister Gabriel Attal as saying. Attal reminded the public and visiting tourists that there is a ban on flying drones, and that unauthorised drones will be intercepted and their operators arrested. In addition, airspace in a 150-kilometre radius around Paris will be completely closed on Friday evening during the opening ceremony.
- Honeywell Demonstrates Advanced Ground Control Station For eVTOL Aircraft- Honeywell and Frequentis have reached a major milestone in advancing the operation of remotely piloted aircraft in European airspace as part of the SESAR Joint Undertaking OperA (Operate Anywhere) project consortium. Through a successful flight test, Honeywell showcased a new ground control station for eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft. This development paves the way for safer and more efficient uncrewed aircraft operations and further supports Honeywell’s alignment with the compelling megatrends of automation and the future of aviation.
- uAvionix integrates FlightLine with Volant's integrated traffic management system - Unmanned airspace- uAvionix has integrated its FlightLine surveillance services with Volant Autonomy’s advanced ITM (Integrated Traffic Management) system for ALIAS (Agile and Integrated Airspace System), a UK government Future Flight Phase III project. The collaboration advances the integration of unsegregated crewed and uncrewed operations into the UK airspace system and supports beyond visual line of sight operations (BVLOS) for uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). It also highlights the capabilities of UAS for numerous airborne applications, particularly as the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority begins to adopt SORA (Specific Operation Risk Assessment) as the roadmap to scalable BVLOS operations.