Weekly review #74- 11th November

ANSP news

• FAB CE - FAB CE air navigation service providers take measures to meet more volatile market demand - FAB CE air navigation service providers (ANSPs) have taken several strategic and tactical measures to flexibly increase capacity to support airline customers in a future recovery while raising the overall en-route capacity of FAB CE to meet future demand.

• InterFAB workshop highlights crucial role of harmonised AIM in achieving a digital European sky - FABEC - The interFAB online workshop entitled Digitalisation –challenging and enabling future aeronautical information management (AIM) brought together more than 100 delegates from all over Europe on 2-3 November to discuss data sharing for efficient airspace management.

• ​NAV CANADA introduces air traffic control service in Red Deer - Recognizing that air traffic at Red Deer Regional (CYQF) airport was steadily rising prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, NAV CANADA has adjusted its service to meet the growing demand and provide optimal service.

• COVID-19: the European Commission approves the proposal for a temporary derogation for 2020 and 2021 to the single European sky performance and charging scheme - ENAV informs that has been approved the proposal, published in July 2020, to undertake exceptional measures for the years 2020-2021 of the third reference period (RP3) and the reinstatement to the “standard” regulation starting from 2022.

• ENAIRE will increase its investment by 26% in 2021, with safety, efficiency and sustainability being its main goals ENAIRE will increase its investment by 26% in 2021, with safety, efficiency and sustainability being its main goals - ENAIRE, Spain's air navigation manager, has included an investment of 127.1 million euros in Spain's Budget Act for 2021. This amount represents an increase in the planned investment of 26%, compared to the investment in 2019, which was 100.7 million euros.

Airports news

• Fraport Group Interim Release – First Nine Months 2020: Revenue and Profit Fall Sharply Amid Covid-19 Pandemic - A total of €280 million earmarked for measures to reduce personnel costs – Adjusted operating result (EBITDA) remains positive, backed by cost-saving measures – Frankfurt Airport’s passenger decline expected to exceed 70 percent for full-year 2020.

Market news

• The world’s largest remote tower centre operates with tower and communication systems from Indra - CANSO - Indra has played an important part in the technology development leading to the opening of the world’s largest remote tower centre. By the end of 2022, 15 airports will be remotely operated from the centre, located in Bodø in northern Norway. Two airports are already operational, Røst and Vardø, 115 and 750 kilometres away.

• "Parrot" will fly to Lithuania again. PANSA wins the Oro Navigacija tender - Polska Agencja Żeglugi Powietrznej – PAŻP, odpowiada za bezpieczeństwo ruchu lotniczego w polskiej przestrzeni powietrznej. - Polish Air Navigation Services Agency is actively looking for new sources of financing. In recent weeks, the Agency won the tender announced by the Lithuanian Oro Navigacija.

Context information

• EUROCONTROL Five-Year Forecast 2020-2024 - In the most optimistic scenario, traffic is forecast to return to 2019 levels by 2024. However, in the second scenario (most likely), 2024 traffic would only be at 92% of the 2019 figure. In the third scenario, traffic in 2024 would be 75% of the 2019 figure and would not reach numbers seen in 2019 until 2029.

• COOPANS Peter Kearney, IAA, appointed chair of the COOPANS Alliance Board - Mr. Peter Kearney, Chief Executive of IAA, has become the Chairperson of the COOPANS Alliance Board. He takes over from Ms Ann Persson Grivas, Director General LFV, who held the position since 2018.

• CANSO Europe publishes initial position on SES2+ - CANSO and its members, the air navigation service providers (ANSPs) from 34 European countries, including 26 EU Member States, are fully committed to making the European Commission’s Single European Sky (SES) vision a reality, and have published an initial position on the Single European Sky 2 (SES2 ).

Research and innovation

• Network Manager B2B Technical Forum: delivering operational value to the aviation community | EUROCONTROL - Delivering operational value to air navigation service providers (ANSPs), airlines and other partners is the core of EUROCONTROL’s work. At the seventh edition of the NM B2B Web Services Technical Forum more than 430 participants from 53 countries discussed the range of solutions that EUROCONTROL’s Web Services offers for the aviation community. 

• European Continuous Climb and Descent Operations Action Plan - EUROCONTROL - Aviation can become more sustainable by improving the efficiency of aircraft and the trajectories they fly. An important way of achieving greater efficiency, lower fuel consumption and fewer emissions is through continuous climb (CCO) and continuous descent (CDO) operations.

UAV and UTM

• Singapore consortium presents findings of 18 months’ UTM programme development - Unmanned airspace - Nova Systems Asia has posted a YouTube summary of Singapore’s unmanned research and development activity, summarising findings of 18 months’ activity and presented by project manager Dr Terry Martin. 

• Naviair - News Danish Airspace heading towards integrated drone flying - A new Danish traffic management platform for drones, paving the way for integration of drones into Danish Airspace, is currently being tested on Funen. The so-called UTM platform serves to ensure safe and efficient flight of thousands of commercial drones, in full integration with conventional air traffic.

• Denmark's initial national UTM system goes live in Funen - Unmanned airspace - The initial UTM system will be trialled in Funen airspace, at the drone test centre at HCA Airport, but during 2021 the platform will gradually be deployed throughout the whole country, according to a press release. 

• First insights from DFS drone detection tests - Air Traffic Management - DFS, the German air navigation service provider, together with its project partners – the operators of Frankfurt Airport (Fraport AG) and Munich Airport (Flughafen München GmbH) – has concluded a large-scale test of drone detection systems at the two busiest airports in Germany.

• Belgium's Aviatize to supply Malta with an IDRONECT national UTM platform - Unmanned airspace - Transport Malta’s Civil Aviation Directorate (CAD) has selected the IDRONECT UTM platform created by Belgium’s Aviatize to manage all drone flights on the archipelago.