Weekly review #61 - 12th August

ANSP news

• July 2020 air traffic in Italy three times higher compared to June - ENAV - ENAV announces that in July it has handled a number of flights three times higher than in June, with over 75,200 movements recorded for a daily average of 2,428 flights and a maximum peak - recorded on July 31 - of 3,061 flights. In June, ENAV had managed just over 26,000 movements with an average of 866 flights per day.
• The world aviation crisis has also hit ORO Navigacija: the income decreased by half - The income from the main activity of state enterprise Oro Navigacija decreased by 51.1 percent during the first half of this year, while the net result was negative and amounted to 4,915 thousand EUR of loss, whereas at the end of the first half of 2019 net profit of 1,799 thousand EUR was recorded.
• Austro Control implementing virtual centre concept - Air Traffic Management - Austro Control is already comprehensively equipped with solutions from Frequentis. The current project includes replacing the voice communication systems which are currently in operation. In connection with this, the nationwide voice and data network for air traffic control will also be replaced. In the final stage, this will enable the provision of voice communication for the operation of all controller working positions in Austria from one of two data centres.
• ENAIRE is placing a new radar in service in La Coruña at a cost of over one million euros ENAIRE is placing a new radar in service in La Coruña at a cost of over one million euros - This new radar provides coverage and surveillance services for flights in the northeast of Spain, as well as for flights in the Atlantic and in the Bay of Biscay. It will also provide coverage for aircraft taking off from and landing at the Santiago – Rosalía de Castro, La Coruña and Vigo airports.

Airports news

• ACI and ICAO’s global management accreditation programme goes virtual - ACI World - Airports Council International (ACI) World has today announced its global ACI-ICAO Airport Management Professional Accreditation Programme (AMPAP) will deliver the gateway component of the programme in a virtual classroom format for the first time.

Market news

• FREQUENTIS to deliver next generation voice communication system to Austrian Air Navigation Service Provider Austro Control - The award of the new voice communication system contract is a major milestone for Frequentis and Austro Control, which continues decades of successful cooperation. Austrian technology company Frequentis will provide a highly innovative solution that will enhance Austria's air traffic control, in line with future requirements. Despite challenging COVID-19 conditions, the project is progressing according to plan, with initial site acceptance taking place in early July.

Context information

• The challenges of fully automating air traffic management - NATS Blog - Automation can bring with it the opportunity to further improve safety levels. And it’s already in our operation. The big jump for the future will be from controllers making the decisions with tools to support them. to the technology making the decision without a human to check and then ‘accept’ the solution.
• SESAR takes first steps toward SWIM governance - Air Traffic Management - On 31 July 2020, the final deliverables of the SWIM Governance SDM, Project were delivered to the SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM), thus concluding more than 3 years of collaborative work involving 20 partners as diverse as airports, airlines, air navigation service providers, meteorological service providers, military organizations and Eurocontrol.

Research and innovation

• Is virtual ATCO training the future? - Think Research - Long blog post by Think Research exploring various aspect of remote training for ATCOs.
• SESAR Joint Undertaking | Enabling seamless air traffic management - Air navigation service providers (ANSPs) can accurately predict aircraft trajectories in their national airspaces but they do not always have a clear view of the constraints that may lie ahead, beyond their national borders. Five ANSPs from Germany (DFS), France (DSNA), Spain (Enaire), Italy (ENAV) and Eurocontrol (MUAC) - along with technology providers, Indra, Leonardo and Thales, have been working to address the challenge in the SESAR research project on ground-to-ground interoperability (IOP).

UAV and UTM

• Unifly appoints new CEO to prepare for accelerated company growth - To lead Unifly in its next growth phase, Leon van de Pas has been appointed CEO of Unifly. He succeeds Marc Kegelaers in this role.
• Woolpert tasked with FAA-sponsored research to develop guidelines for large UAS operations at US airports - Unmanned airspace - Woolpert will evaluate large UAS vehicles and operations of varying types and sizes to identify where impacts to current design standards exist and publish guidance for the airport industry. Airfield design challenges, issues and considerations specific to the operational needs of large UAS will help determine whether to integrate or segregate, and identify gaps in planning, environmental impacts and infrastructure criteria. A large UAS is an unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) that weighs 55 pounds or more, including payload.
• State of Virginia launches flight information exchange for unmanned aerial systems - Unmanned airspace - The Virginia Department of Aviation (DOAV) and Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced the launch of the Virginia Flight Information Exchange pilot programme, a tool that will allow state and local governments to share information among unmanned aerial systems (UAS) stakeholders and address key safety and policy concerns while keeping the airspace open, secure, and integrated with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) control of the national airspace.
• GUTMA turns to speed networking to enable members to “share experiences” - Unmanned airspace - The Global Unmanned Traffic Management Association (GUTMA) has invited its members to “an exclusive and private” members-only speed networking event. According to a LinkedIn post by the association, the event aims to set up new ways to bridge the gap between individual members and facilitate and the exchange and sharing of experiences.