2021 will be a year like no other. With COVID vaccines and possibly an end to the pandemic in sight, a strong but efficient air traffic management industry will be needed more than ever before. Even with some light at the end of the tunnel beckoning, there's a lot of heavy-lifting work to do and it'll certainly be a roller coaster.
I'm optimistic by nature and this will not change with this crisis. ATM will be different, aviation will be different. Bailouts will change some rules and new expectations will be set in terms of sustainability. Nobody knows what the industry will look like by the end of 2021 but one thing is certain: there will be opportunities along the way.
A good radar and a good network will be crucial and you can rest assured that this newsletter and FoxATM will deliver information that makes sense for you and is meaningful to your business.
2020 was the third year of FoxATM and a year like no other. We successfully launched our "Market Radar" market intelligence services and on the consulting side, new customers honoured us with their trust. We also had a lot of interesting exchanges with many partners in our ever growing network which helped establish exciting new relationships.
I want to use this opportunity to thank you all, dear friends, supporters, customers, partners and contacts of FoxATM. It is now time for a break and you will get the next issue of this newsletter on the 13th of January.
We wish you all a great holiday season and we look forward to navigating through the ATM industry in 2021 on your side.
ANSP news
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Supervisory Board pays respect to Klaus-Dieter Scheurle, who is stepping down as CEO at DFS - Chairperson of the DFS Supervisory Board, Dr Tamara Zieschang, praised Scheurle’s hard work and commitment to the air navigation services during today’s Supervisory Board meeting.
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FAB CE ANSPs work to expand cross-border free route airspace - FAB CE air navigation service providers (ANSPs), neighbouring ANSPs and the Network Manager NM) held an online meeting at the start of December 2020 to discuss further airspace restructuring proposals, focusing on extending free route airspace (FRA) procedures in and around the FAB CE area.
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EUROCONTROL MUAC and DFS sign agreement to enhance efficiency in core European airspace - EUROCONTROL’s Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) and DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH have just signed a collaboration agreement which encompasses a range of bilateral initiatives in the areas of airspace optimisation, technical cooperation and harmonisation of procedures.
Market news
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Sixth ATC simulator site goes live in Norway - The final of six Airways TotalControl tower simulator sites for Avinor Air Navigation Services in Norway has gone live, concluding a complex eight-month project with an innovative approach to delivery.
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FREQUENTIS: ATM successes for ATRiCS - Air Traffic Management - With the acquisition of 51% of ATRiCS Advanced Traffic Solutions GmbH in April 2020, Frequentis followed its growth path by further expanding into the tower automation sector.
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Innov'ATM chosen by DSNA to provide UTM services to Paris airports - Unmanned airspace - Innov’ATM, the Toulouse-based, ATM and UTM specialist, reports it has been chosen by France’s air navigation service provider DSNA to implement its UTM systems at Paris/Charles de Gaulle, Orly and nine general aviation airfields in the Île de France region.
Context information
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Airlines and Airports Stress Need to Align EC Proposal on Airport Slot Relief in Summer 2021 - IATA - Europe’s airlines and airports are highly concerned by the European Commission’s (EC) proposal to amend the airport slot regulation. The proposal does not sufficiently address the extent of the continuing crisis in air transport, the likely state of recovery in Summer 2021 and the required level of airport slot relief measures that would best support aviation’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
Reports and data
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NAV CANADA reports November traffic figures - NAV CANADA announced today its traffic figures for the month of November 2020, as measured in weighted charging units for enroute, terminal and oceanic air navigation services, in comparison to the last fiscal year.
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As the number of flights keeps decreasing, Europe will be the most affected region - ORO Navigacija - "Despite the expectation that the current situation in aviation sector will start improving as soon as the vaccine is widely used, the latest economic forecast of IATA reveals that in 2021 Europe is expected to be the worst-hit region worldwide in terms of airline losses (11.9 billion USD) and EBIT margin (expected decrease of 9.5 percent).
Research and innovation
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Webinar looks at outsourcing ATM data services - CANSO - CANSO and Egis held a joint webinar on ‘Outsourcing ATM data services – the business case for change’. The webinar was led by Alex Bristol, Chief Executive Officer at skyguide and CANSO Executive Committee member, and Ben Stanley, Director at Helios.
UAV and UTM
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EmbraerX and Airservices Australia release Concept of Operations for Urban Air Mobility - Airservices - EmbraerX and Airservices, Australia’s civil air navigation service provider, have developed a new concept of operations for the air taxi market, also known as urban air mobility (UAM). Going forward, Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, the new EmbraerX spin-off, will be responsible for this partnership with Airservices and for the development of Urban Air Traffic Management solutions.
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