Weekly review #81- 13th January

Firstly, we'd like to say a happy new year to all our wonderful readers! 

This week, we've been scanning the news for some feel-good stories to highlight. World news is very heavy right now, and we're keen to inject some more positive commentary that emphasises the hard work that's going on across the industry. So here's some better news to start the new year:

Next up is the new European regulation concerning drones entering into force this month. This puts manned and unmanned air traffic safe in the hands of skeyes and its subsidiary SkeyDrone. The regulation provides a new framework for the use of drones in different types of airspace, most notably in low-level airspace. It's the start of a new era of aviation, guaranteeing the safety of all air traffic and will be playing a huge part in the integration of drone operations in the Belgian airspace. 

And lastly, the news that ENAIRE is again drastically lowering its air navigation charges in 2021 to help the sector recover. With this measure, ENAIRE is helping air traffic recover in the wake of the worst crisis in its history due to the effects of COVID-19, lowering costs for airlines and helping to lower ticket prices for the travelling public.

We hope to have helped with making things feel a little less blue this week. As ever, if you have any questions or comments to make - please don't hesitate to get in touch!

ANSP news

• Manned and unmanned air traffic safe in the hands of skeyes - The new European Regulation for drones will change the airspace for good. This will have a major impact on air traffic control as well. skeyes and its subsidiary SkeyDrone have been preparing for this moment for a long time and are ready to take up their role in a new era of aviation, guaranteeing the safety of all air traffic.

• NAV CANADA announces President & CEO transition - NAV CANADA announced the appointment of Raymond G. Bohn as President & CEO, effective February 1, 2021. 

• PANSA and Indra boost the European Digital Sky with the first deployment of the next generation iTEC system - Polish Air Naviagation Services Agency has signed an agreement with Indra, one of the leading global technology and consulting companies, to implement the iTEC system in the new Control Center in Poznan. 

• skyguide joins A6 Alliance as an independent member - skyguide (Switzerland) joined the A6 Alliance of European air navigation service providers (ANSPs) working towards the deployment of SESAR to achieve the Single European Sky. 

• ENAIRE is again drastically lowering its air navigation charges in 2021 to help the sector recover- The mainland route charge will be reduced from 51.08 euros in 2020 to 45.44 euros in 2021, which is an 11% reduction. Similarly, the route charge in the Canary Islands, which was already reduced earlier and is lower than in the mainland, is also being lowered from 43.73 euros to 40 euros, an 8.5% drop.

• ENAIRE, sole provider authorised by AESA to provide all air navigation services in any European country ENAIRE, sole provider authorised by AESA to provide all air navigation services in any European country - ENAIRE has been certified by the National Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) to provide air navigation services not only in Spain, but in any European country. 

• Air traffic back down to 1980s levels - DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH - The volume of air traffic in Germany has more than halved as a result of the coronavirus crisis. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH recorded a total of 1.46 million take-offs, landings and overflights under instrument flight rules in 2020. The company is not anticipating a recovery for several years.

Airports news

• Avinor lost 6 out of 10 passengers in 2020 - The largest decrease was at Oslo Airport, which had just 9 million passengers compared with 28.6 per cent in 2019. The number of aircraft movement did not decrease to the same extent when compared with the previous year. 

Market news

• SITTI completed delivery to India - The tight schedule defined for the supply of VCS systems to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has not being delayed due to the Covid virus emergency situation. The last two lots found their way to their final destination according to the agreements with the customer. 

• New Saudi Arabian airport to be managed by daa international - Airport World - Saudi Arabia’s planned new Red Sea airport is to be managed by daa international, the international business subsidiary of the operator of Ireland’s Dublin and Cork airports.

• SITTI Multifono to the FAA - SITTI MULTIFONO® M800IP® VCS system will be installed at the FAA William Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City and be used by the FAA to perform market research for future voice switching procurements.

• ENAV awarded contract in Colombia - ENAV, through its subsidiary IDS AirNav - global leader in aeronautical information management systems - has been awarded a contract worth 1.95 million euro in Colombia to provide the Colombian air navigation service provider (UAEAC - Unidad Administrativa Especial de Aeronáutica Civil) software systems, operational start-up and maintenance of the aeronautical information service (AIS).

Context information

• The value of accurate Off-Block Time prediction - Assaia - Let’s see how predictability can help to create a win-win all around! In this blog post we will explore the intricacies of manually set Off-Block Time (OBT) estimations versus machine generated predictions. 

• What COVID-19 did to European Aviation in 2020, and Outlook 2021 - EUROCONTROL - EUROCONTROL’s latest Think Paper, the eighth in a series of thought-provoking papers aimed at industry leaders and policy-makers, uses exclusive EUROCONTROL aviation data to run the big numbers for 2020. 

Reports and data

• Traffic drop in Malta in 2020 - Malta Air Traffic Services - Official statistics note a 57% drop in traffic in 2020 over 2019. In 2020, when traffic was hit hard by the pandemic, MATS continued to provide its uncompromised 24/7 air navigation service for all Malta’s airspace users, including general aviation around the island. 

• Passenger Demand Recovery Grinds to a Halt in November - IATA - Total demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was down 70.3% compared to November 2019, virtually unchanged from the 70.6% year-to-year decline recorded in October. 

• Cork Airport loses two million passengers in 2020 - Cork Airport, Ireland’s fastest-growing gateway in 2019, today revealed that it lost more than two million passengers in 2020 as a result of COVID-19. 

Research and innovation

• SESAR presents its "Young ATM and Aviation Researcher" award to CRIDA/ENAIRE engineer Christian Eduardo Verdonk to predicting trajectories SESAR presents its "Young ATM and Aviation Researcher" award to CRIDA/ENAIRE engineer Christian Eduardo Verdonk to predicting trajectories in air traffic management environments - The Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) awards for young scientists, presented during the SESAR Innovation Days virtual session, are intended to recognise young scientists who have demonstrated excellence in research fields involving aviation and air traffic management (ATM).

• Azimut JSC has successfully completed the first stage of R&D work on ATN - Azimut JSC has successfully completed the first stage of R&D work on the topic "Research, development and approval of ATN (aeronautical telecommunications network) implementation concept. 

UAV and UTM

• Russia developing technology to integrate drones into common airspace - Air Traffic Management - On December 21, 2020 the technical design stage of the Russian Unmanned aircraft system Traffic Management (RUTM1) was completed and the project team demonstrated the UAV’s onboard module and the operability of various services for UAV, including the service for automatic conflict resolution in real time.

• FAA publishes remote ID, flights-over-people rules - achieves broad industry support - Unmanned airspace - The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has today announced final rules for drones covering Remote Identification (Remote ID) and flights over people and at night under certain conditions.

• EASA drone operating rules replace national laws in the European Union - Unmanned airspace - As from today, 31 December 2020, new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) drone operating rules come into effect across the European Union and associated States.

• Covid-19 slows down UTM implementation worldwide, reduces near-term market – latest Unmanned Airspace report - Unmanned airspace - The Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down the implementation of UTM programmes around the world, according to the latest edition of “The Market for UAV Traffic Management Services – 2021-2025” report, published on December 31, 2020, by Unmanned Airspace.

• Standards bodies ASTM and RTCA collaborate on ‘ACAS sXu’ detect and avoid capability for drones - Unmanned airspace - The focus of the collaboration is on an aviation system designed to provide detect and avoid (DAA) capability for drones operating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). Operational performance requirements and test procedures are being developed jointly for the new system, which is known as ACAS sXu.

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