Weekly review #45- April 22nd

ANSP news

• NATS eligible for funding of up to £92 million to maintain services - The UK, along with other European states, has supported the intergovernmental organisation, EUROCONTROL, which manages charging for air navigation services across Europe, in securing a loan of £1.1 billion to maintain critical air navigation services, which have been affected by the fall in air traffic from coronavirus.

• DFS: skies above Germany are far from empty - The coronavirus pandemic has brought civil air traffic in Germany to a virtual standstill. In recent weeks, traffic figures have dropped by up to 90 percent. However, the airspace is far from empty.

Airports news

• ISAVIA and Landspítali University Hospital join forces - The Hospital recently contacted Isavia requesting assistance with security and other aspects that require the special knowledge their employees have. 

• Four billion Icelandic crowns for investment projects at Keflavik airport - This increase in share capital of 25 M€ makes it possible for Isavia to initiate two projects, one of which relates to design for the next large construction work at the Leif Eiriksson Air Terminal and the other related to the design and construction of roads and runways at Keflavík Airport.

• Fraport Traffic Figures – March 2020: Passenger Traffic Markedly Declines - In March 2020, Frankfurt Airport (FRA) served some 2.1 million passengers – a 62.0 percent decline compared to March last year. For the first three months of 2020, accumulated passenger traffic at FRA fell by 24.9 percent.  Repatriation flights organised by tour operators and the German government attenuated these effects only slightly.

• ACI World publishes operational practices to assist airports’ COVID-19 response - Airports Council International (ACI) World has today published examples of operational practices introduced by airport members from around the world in response to the restrictions and upheaval created by COVID-19.

• Fraport will hold its Annual General Meeting in a virtual format on May 26 - Fraport AG will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at 10:00 a.m. (CEST) on May 26, 2020, in a virtual-only format. Thus, Fraport is taking advantage of a new German law introduced on March 27, 2020, and permitting AGMs to be held virtually as a mitigation measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Vinci airports traffic numbers for Q1 2020 - Marked downturn (-20.9%) in passenger numbers at VINCI Airports network facilities during the first quarter of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Market news

• ADB SAFEGATE appoints new CEO to accelerate its transformation agenda for airports - The appointment of Laurent Dubois as CEO of ADB SAFEGATE comes at a time of unprecedented challenges for all organisations connected with air travel. The likely impact of the COVID-19 pandemic makes it more important than ever for ADB SAFEGATE to move ahead with its plans to help airports deliver the best, delay-free passenger experiences.

• AIRSEAIR RPAS to provide CNS measurement services with Skyguide's CNS drone in Central and South America - Skyguide, the Swiss air navigation service provider, and AIRSEAIR RPAS, a remotely piloted aircraft systems operator and provider based in Montréal (Canada) with active presence in the Latin American region, are collaborating to establish CNS (Communication, Navigation, Surveillance) Drone Services in Central- and South America.

• Combining AI and Telematics Optimises Cargo Handling Process - NFORM GmbH teamed up with Blumenbecker Technik GmbH to develop the industry’s first solution that facilitates a vastly improved process of managing and maintaining dolly fleets. The ground handlers have complete control over the degree of capacity utilisation of each dolly and therefore are able to efficiently use their fleet and reduce costs/number of dollies where possible.

• UFA, Inc. helps customers continue their training activities during the COVID-19 shutdown - UFA, Inc. provides multiple remote-learning solutions which are helping its customers train outside the traditional classroom. ATCoach, ATTower, and ATSpeak, can be accessed on mobile devices from home and are fully enabled with ATVoice, voice recognition and response system.

Context information

• US joining global push allowing cargo shipment in passenger jet cabins - U.S. air-safety regulators, seeking to make it easier for airlines to ramp up transportation of cargo aimed at combating the pandemic, are poised to allow such shipments in the cabins of passenger planes, according to people familiar with the issue.

• CANSO welcomes adoption of rescue package for European ANSPs - CANSO supports the proposal adopted yesterday, which enables EUROCONTROL to apply for funding which guarantees a minimum level of financing for European ANSPs until September. Under this, EUROCONTROL is authorised to take a loan worth up to €1.27 billion, which it will use to pay ANSPs 51% of their operating costs for four months.

• Could COVID-19 be a game changer for the aviation industry? - Covid-19 could be the most abrupt shock to the global economy in decades, with aviation arguably being the most disrupted industry. The future of aviation has never been so uncertain. However, from today’s stories and lessons learned, the industry must commit to evolve and renew. Players in the market who recognise this wind of change and opportunity for innovation will recover earlier and succeed faster.

Research and innovation

• ATRiCS and partners awarded an R&D project on safe use of AI in ATC - ATRiCS together with Fraport AG, University of Saarland and the DLR have been awarded an R&D project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to examine methods for the safe use of Artificial Intelligence in air traffic control.

• Supporting small airports using virtual reality - The costs of purchasing, installing and maintaining the latest remote tower technology makes it impracticable for airfields with a low volume of traffic. The German Aerospace Center has teamed up with the Osnabrück University and RWTH Aachen University to develop an alternative concept based on lower-cost components and Virtual Reality.

UAV and UTM

• LVNL launches GoDrone app for drone operators - Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL) launched the GoDrone app that can be used on mobile devices and in browsers, available at godrone.nl. The app was developed for all drone operators in the Netherlands, and provides information about where you can fly your drone safely. By launching the app, LVNL wants to improve safety for the increased use of drones in the airspace.

• SESAR JU U-space webinar sessions - SESAR JU members and partners recently brought to a close two years of research and development (R&D) on how to integrate safely and securely drones across Europe. These sessions will present the work of some of these projects addressing the concept of operations for U-space, critical communications, surveillance and tracking, information management and exchange, detect and avoid, and CNS technologies.

• Accommodating the drone - Think research blog post addressing the drone integration issue: "when drones made it to the press it was normally for the wrong reasons – typically disrupting busy airports. So, how do you accommodate drones without them being a nuisance? To answer this question there are three critical observations that need to be understood."

• ENAIRE coordinates drone flights conducted by law enforcement agencies related to the COVID-19 - Since the state of emergency was activated, ENAIRE has registered more than 40 requests for unmanned aircraft flights under Article 44 of Royal Decree 1036/2017, which regulates the use of drones in situations of serious risk, catastrophe or public disaster.