Weekly review #44 - April 15th

ANSP news

• Skyguide's statement the military justice report on the fatal F/A-18 accident in 2016 - The Military Justice today published the investigation report on the F/A-18 accident in the Susten area. The report concludes that a contributing factor of the accident was an overly low altitude instruction by air traffic control.

• EUROCONTROL States agree a €1.1 billion deferral package to assist airlines - The EUROCONTROL Member States have agreed a financial package enabling airlines to defer the payment of up to €1.1 billion of air traffic control fees due for payment to Europe’s air traffic management industry in the coming months.

• Flight data shows full impact of Covid-19 on New Zealand air travel - Two weeks of flight count data released by Airways New Zealand shows the full impact Covid-19 is having on air travel. In the week following the Government’s March 23 announcement that the country would go into a four-week lockdown, scheduled airline traffic declined by 47% compared to the same period last year. In the past seven days, traffic has dropped 85%.

• EUROCONTROL supports NATO’s Rapid Air Mobility process - With the COVID-19 outbreak, NATO implements Rapid Air Mobility (RAM) process. RAM makes it easier to move essential items, such as vital medical supplies, injured people and key personnel, by air. EUROCONTROL will play a key role in prioritising flights carrying needed supplies.

• ANS Czech Republic letter to airspace users on fees payment postponement due to COVID-19

• IAA assistance to airlines while air traffic drops 29% in March - The Irish Aviation Authority welcome the €1.1 billion financial package to assist the airlines. This will allow Air Traffic Control providers, including the IAA, to defer certain charges owed by airlines until late 2020 and into 2021.

• Airways New Zealand reviews air traffic service levels at seven regional aerodromes - Airways is considering withdrawing air traffic services at seven regional aerodromes where there are limited or no commercial flights operating due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. The air navigation services provider has now commenced discussion with the airports, airlines and staff.

• Details of ATC fees payment delay granted by EUROCONTROL in COVID-19 crisis

• Skeyes reports a light traffic drop for H1 2019 - Overall there was a decrease of traffic in 2019 compared to the year before for the en-route and at the airports of Brussels and Antwerp. There was a growth at the airports of Charleroi, Liège and Ostend. 

• Beacon of Light beams from new IAA Air Traffic Control Tower for #ShineYourLight Campaign - The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), in collaboration with ESB, projected a beacon of light into the sky from the new Air Traffic Control tower at Dublin Airport in support of the #ShineYourLight/ #LonraighdoSholas campaign in solidarity of all those impacted by and helping to fight Covid-19.

Context information

• Airlines grateful for air traffic control charges delay - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) thanked Eurocontrol member states and European Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) for agreeing to delay payments due for air navigation services in February through to May this year.

• CANSO urges European States to back rescue package for ANSPs - CANSO Director General, Simon Hocquard said: "We absolutely recognise the pain that the airlines are going through and welcome the clarity the first EUROCONTROL proposal provides to our Members. However, our message has always been clear – this is an industry-wide problem that requires an industry-wide solution.

• COVID-19 and aviation: planning for the ‘new normal’ - In this article, Helios explores some of the key areas that airlines, airports and ANSPs can look at in order to adapt to the 'new normal' over the next six to 24 months.

• ADP ingénierie: airports face a change of paradigm - At the end of the pandemic, the re-start of the air connectivity will be an issue. Apart from resuming their facilities and implementing long-term strict containment measures, airport stakeholders will have to adapt their strategy and investments, and plan short-term projects aimed at restoring passengers’ trust.

Research and innovation

• CANSO and Aireon announce data-driven partnership to understand COVID-19 impact on aviation industry - CANSO and Aireon announced an initiative to produce data-driven insights and analysis to better understand how COVID-19 is impacting the aviation industry, with a particular emphasis on how the pandemic is impacting the air traffic management and the flow of essential goods and services.

• CANSO: effort to deliver additional environmental benefits during the traffic downturn - In the current low-level traffic scenario, most of the airspace restrictions can be lifted, which enables more direct routes and allows aircraft to fly their optimal vertical profiles.

• IATA Aviation Data & Digital Webinar Series - Industry experts and leaders provide insights about data and digital solutions that could deliver quick and immediate results helping airlines and the wider aviation and travel value chain overcome this crisis and accelerate the recovery process.

UAV and UTM

• Rakuten Mobile Using AirMap’s TowerSight Solution to Inspect Base Station Sites with Drones as it Rolls Out New Network - AirMap, the leading digital airspace and automation company serving the drone economy today announced that it is providing its TowerSight solution to Rakuten Mobile, Inc., a division of the Japanese internet services company Rakuten. Rakuten Mobile is using TowerSight to conduct drone inspections of its base station sites as it rolls out the world’s first fully virtualised mobile network.

• Altitude Angel delivers web and mobile app for LVNL - Altitude Angel has today delivered the first phase in its commitment to Netherlands' ANSP, Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL), to enable the country's first nationwide UTM platform.

• AirMap and Aiviewgroup Partner to Deliver Enterprises an Integrated Drone Intelligence Platform - The companies will integrate AirMap’s airspace intelligence and operations management tools with Aiviewgroup’s aerial inspection and fleet management solutions.

• PansaUTM increases its operational range! - On April, 6th, PansaUTM has been introduced in controlled zones of Gdańsk, Lublin and Szczecin airports, as well as in the Gdańsk sector of the Flight Information Service (FIS) covering 1/5 of the uncontrolled airspace.

Our webinar interview with Johannes Schuster from Aeroficial Intelligence is available to access here. He offers some excellent insights to air traffic and airport capacity enhancements using analytics, big data and AI. Let us know how you find it.