Weekly review #51- 3 June

• Airservices releases review of culture - The report examines the culture of Airservices Australia specifically relating to bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, psychological welfare and inclusion. It draws on extensive qualitative and quantitative data and makes 19 detailed recommendations.

• GACA approves GAL ANS remote ATCO basic training - ICAO 051 Basic ATC course has been accepted by the GCAA for delivery through an e-learning platform with virtual instructor-led, interactive training.

Airports news

• Results of Fraport's general assembly - Shareholders ratified actions of Fraport’s Executive and Supervisory boards for business year 2019 – Suspension of dividend approved – Hesse’s finance minister Michael Boddenberg elected to the Supervisory Board

• Avinor Oslo Airport: Invitation to dialogue conference on baggage handling - Avinor Oslo Airport is now looking for innovative suppliers who can help develop solutions for more efficient baggage handling between the baggage hall and the aircraft.

Market news

• AZIMUT received an FAA type certificate for MAS2700 MLAT systems - In April 2020, following successful certification tests, Azimut JSC received an FAAT-RNA-026 Type Certificate issued by the Federal Agency for Air Transport for the MAS2700 MLAT system, confirming compliance of the product specifications with the certification requirements of applicable Russian and international standards for surveillance means.

• Chinese ATMB selects SITTI for the new VCS in Zuhai - The specification from the customer was to be able to connect at least 48 analogue radio channels, 16 VOIP ED-137 radios, more than 80 analogue telephone lines, plus a number of other interfaces, including digital E1 and ATS-QSIG. The provision also includes 9 Controller Working Positions.

• CANSO and Metron Aviation announce new partnership to optimise air traffic operational recovery - CANSO and Metron Aviation announced an initiative to provide Metron’s commercial demand prediction tool - Horizon - complimentary to ANSPs until the end of October 2020. The enhanced information regarding traffic demand will be particularly helpful to ensure efficient management of traffic flows as travel restrictions are lifted and air traffic levels pick up again.

• AirMap Partners with Falcon Eye Drones (FEDS) to Supply Drone Automation Solution JobSight to Construction Firms - AirMap is partnering with FEDS, the first and leading Drone-As-A-Service (DaaS) company in the Middle East, to provide its JobSight solution to construction companies across the Middle East and North Africa.

• SITTI remote training - Along with traditional courses carried out at SITTI headquarters or at the customer’s premises, remote training is also available for technical, operational and train-the-trainer trainings.

• Guardrec webinar on the recording ED-137 VoIP communication - The webinar on the 4th of June will address: the main challenges for the airports not using ED-137, Key advantages ED-137 provides the airport, 3 crucial elements you to consider when implementing ED-137

Context information

• Think Research - The value in keeping ATCOs engaged throughout ATM recovery - The world over, ANSPs and airports are currently operating at reduced staffing levels in response to far fewer flights in need of service. As such, controllers are either working less frequently or not at all through furlough schemes. Even those now on-shift in the ops room and tower environments are starting to lose the valuable skills that they need to safely manage high intensity traffic.

• COVID-19 compels aviation industry to speed up the modernisation of the ATM system and prioritise business continuity - Many flights across the world remain grounded due to COVID-19, however, repatriation flights and cargo flights require the airspace to remain open. There have also been cases of interrupted air traffic control (ATC) services due to suspected COVID cases. This calls for a modernisation of the ATM system, building on virtualised ATC centres for ACCs and tower

• COVID-19 and aviation – A step-change towards scalability and resilience - Blog post by Helios on how ANSPs are faced with the challenges of protecting frontline staff from infection while continuing operations to provide essential services for cargo, repatriation, humanitarian and emergency flights.

Research and innovation

• SESAR digital transformation projects get underway - Artificial intelligence, intermodal transport and common altitude reference for drone operations are among the topics to be addressed by a portfolio of 29 new exploratory projects, recently launched by the SESAR Joint Undertaking within the framework of the SESAR 2020 research and innovation programme.

• NASA releases initial concept of operations for high altitude airspace traffic management - NASA' Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI) has released an initial concept of operations and associated operational requirements for cooperative air traffic management in High Altitude Airspace (Upper E) Traffic Management (ETM).

UAV and UTM

• Aviation plus Telecommunications – the answer to safe drone management? - The sixth and final installment of the ongoing series of webinars from The Global UTM Association (GUTMA), the connection between aviation and mobile network operators (MNOs) was the topic of the day. Four speakers addressed this, all with views from different geographic regions. The companies joining the call were TEOCO, KPN, OneSky and Telstra.