You are here: Home » Archives for ATM
ATM - Articles and news items
Latest issue / 8 December 2011 /
By 2026, it is forecast that aviation will contribute one trillion USD to the world’s GDP per year. This is more than double the 425 billion USD it contributes today, and clearly demonstrates the increasingly important role that aviation plays in supporting the global economy. However, this relies on the provision of a safe, efficient and cost effective Air Traffic Management (ATM) system that is capable of serving increasing growth.
Air navigation service providers (ANSPs), together with their airline and airport partners, are an integral part of the global aviation system. They are responsible for ensuring that the future ATM system is fit for purpose, while at the same time, meeting market demand and continuing to provide a safe, efficient and cost effective service to their customers – the airspace users.
This is not an easy task. Airspace is a finite resource and there are only so many aircraft that can safely fly through the same section of sky at any one time. ANSPs also face a myriad of political, technical and human resources challenges that can, at times, stand in the way of progress. (more…)
Latest issue / 8 December 2011 /
In 2012, ICAO will convene a landmark air navigation conference that will seek agreement on the strategic plan to set the stage for globally interoperable Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems. These systems will be implemented based on the Aviation System Block Upgrade (ASBU) concept. The ASBU approach calls for a flexible, tailored upgrade path based on a series of blocks and modules designed to enhance safety, address future air transport growth and reduce emissions.
ICAO estimates that over $120 billion will be spent on the transformation of air transportation systems in the next 10 years. While NextGen and SESAR in the United States and Europe account for a large share of this spending, parallel initiatives are underway in many other States, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan and the Russian federation.
Modernisation is an enormously complex task but one which the industry absolutely requires. It is clear that to safely and efficiently accommodate projected increases in air traffic demand – as well as respond to the diversified needs of operators, the environment and other inherent issues -it is necessary to evolve Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems in order to provide greater operational benefits. (more…)
Airport news / 14 November 2011 /
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is on track to provide Dubai with one of the world’s most modern air traffic management systems to safely and efficiently meet Dubai’s ambitious airport and air traffic growth plans. The company’s next-generation ATM system, AutoTrac III (AT3), installed at Dubai World Central’s Al Maktoum International Airport, is scheduled to be operational next year.
(more…)
Airport news / 9 November 2011 /
At a ceremony which took place on 8 November, EUROCONTROL celebrated 10 years of the ARTAS service and 20 years since the launch of the ARTAS concept.
(more…)
Airport news / 20 July 2011 /
For the first time ever in the EASA Annual Safety Review, a specific chapter on ATM has been included, containing safety data derived from EUROCONTROL’s reporting mechanism, the Annual Summary Template (AST).
(more…)
Airport news / 8 July 2011 /
EUROCONTROL has issued its 9th ATM Cost-effectiveness Benchmarking Report (ACE).
(more…)
Issue 3 2011 / 10 June 2011 /
Europe’s civil air transport industry will face tougher performance levels when the Single European Sky (SES) II performance scheme, set by the European Commission, is introduced in 2012. Although exempted from the first (three year) reporting period, ground operations will eventually see safety, efficiency and environmental targets applied, with airports considered an integral and vital part of the system. (more…)
Airport news / 8 June 2011 /
Entry Point North owned by the Swedish, the Danish and the Norwegian air navigation service providers and the Hungarian air navigation service provider are opening a joint ATM training academy in Budapest named Entry Point Central. Starting in September 2011, the future generation of Hungarian air traffic controllers will be trained according to the world-class Scandinavian training program and methodology. (more…)
Issue 1 2011 / 26 January 2011 /
The volcanic ash cloud over Europe was one of the biggest news stories of 2010. For the air traffic control industry, it also meant an unprecedented length of time under the media spotlight.
In airspace which normally sees 26,000 flights a day carrying 700,000 passengers, the first six days of the continuing eruption and the combination of unseasonal winds grounded all but a fraction of the scheduled commercial services, leaving tens of thousands of travellers stranded and airports stilled. (more…)
Issue 6 2010 / 13 December 2010 /
Air transport in Europe today is safe and relatively efficient, despite its high density and the complexity of its operations. This is due in no small part to the continent’s air navigation service providers (ANSPs), of which skyguide is one. But what will the picture look like 10 years from now, if air traffic continues to grow at the rates currently projected? Eurocontrol expects traffic volumes to increase by 2.8% a year. If they do, it will not be too long before the growth can no longer be handled using the present airspace structures – or at least not without major delays. (more…)
Airport news / 2 December 2010 /
The Ministers of Transport and high-level military representatives from Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland are signing the FABEC States Agreement (Functional Airspace Block Europe Central) in Brussels/Belgium. With their signatures, the six States involved establish a common functional block of airspace and organise air traffic management irrespective of national borders. With this agreement, the States put a framework in place for air navigation service providers to improve their performance in terms of safety, environmental impact, capacity, cost effectiveness, shorter routes and military mission effectiveness. FABEC, which will handle about 55 percent of all flights in Europe and covers the most complex traffic areas between the busiest airports, is a major step towards the Single European Sky programme (SES) which is being put in place by the European Commission. The States Agreement is expected to be ratified by 2012.
(more…)
Airport news / 13 October 2010 /
CANSO, the global voice of ATM, has welcomed Dubai Airports and Nokia Siemens Networks as its newest Associate Members. (more…)
Issue 5 2010 / 1 October 2010 /
The latest developments in Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) and Continuous Descent Approaches (CDA)
If you work at a large airport, the chances are that you will be affected by at least one, if not both, of these initiatives. Implementation is rolling out across Europe. For CDA we are well on the way to 100 airports by 2013, while for A-CDM we expect eight airports by the end of next year. (more…)
Issue 4 2010 / 10 August 2010 /
Since the establishment of the CANSO Middle East Region in June 2009, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation has focused on creating a vision, strategy and programme for tackling ANSP concerns in the region. Aviation stakeholders were given the first sight of this work at CANSO’s second Middle East ANSP Conference in Dubai, January, and since then the Association has continued to grow in the Middle East.
CANSO’s activities in the region are governed by the Middle East CANSO CEO Committee (MEC3), a group of CEOs and senior directors from CANSO members in the area. In January I was honoured to be elected chairman of this group. It was the MEC3 which conceived the REDSEA (Realise, Enhance and Develop Seamless Efficient Airspace) vision and work programme for the region. (more…)
Issue 3 2010 / 9 June 2010 /
Safety is always the first priority of an ANSP, but increasingly there has been a shift in recent years away from safety as the sole concern of an ANSP. Airlines are focusing more on efficiency – both on the ground and in the air – and even safety itself is coming under the scrutiny of cost/benefit analysis.
In many respects, this shift is an acknowledgment of the success of ANSPs in handling safety issues. Safety is never taken for granted, but it is understood that the procedures and technology in place are effective, and the public certainly seem to be happy with the safety of air traffic control, at least in most of the developed world. (more…)
Login to access exclusive content