New partnership created to drive the modernisation of European ATM

An innovative partnership of leading airspace users, airports, air navigation service providers and the EUROCONTROL Network Manager (NM) have jointly released a set of high-level principles to drive and effectively coordinate the modernisation of the European air traffic management (ATM) system over the coming years.

The partnership is perfectly placed to provide decisive and clear added value to ATM stakeholders and the European aviation system. Its members possess a wealth of operational and institutional expertise, as well as large-scale programme management experience, bringing under one roof airlines, air navigation service providers (ANSPs), Airports Council International (ACI) Europe and the EUROCONTROL NM as Consortium Coordinator. 

Together, the partners have defined the following high-level principles:

• Build and make use of an unprecedented pool of civil and military ATM expertise, know-how and skills
• Simplify the processes to perform the required tasks, better focusing resources and efforts
• Expand perspectives beyond European Union (EU) boundaries to support stakeholders across the whole European network
• Combine a performance-based and passenger-centric approach with the network perspective
• Focus resolutely on the environmental performance of ATM to support the European Green Deal
• Deliver the highest level of buy-in from all involved stakeholders thanks to inclusive stakeholder consultation mechanisms
• Widen the scope to all major deployment and infrastructure initiatives requiring synchronisation at a pan-European level
• Establish a closer link between the technology innovation cycle and ATM operations, addressing the most urgent priorities and operational needs
• Defragment deployment and coordinate investments through a reinforced programme management approach
• Create a ‘virtuous cycle’ to link and de-risk all phases of the ATM lifecycle through close cooperation with the SESAR Joint Undertaking.

The partnership intends to build on the achievements of the SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM) and SESAR Deployment Alliance (SDA), and is ready for the future steps in deployment activities in view of the forthcoming call for proposals by the European Commission (EC), covering the term mid-2021 until at least 2027.

Director General of EUROCONTROL, Eamonn Brennan, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has massively impacted European ATM, and the only way for European ATM to ‘build back better’ from the pandemic is by working together. The partnership of operational stakeholders and the EUROCONTROL Network Manager is hugely important in this regard: An alliance of equals with unparalleled expertise and experience that can really get things done and deploy an effective, cost-efficient, scalable and environmentally sustainable European ATM infrastructure for the future.”

Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe, said: “Being fully involved and part of the deployment of SESAR is a must for ACI Europe. This is about pursuing our agenda for a closer integration between airport operations and air traffic management, which is instrumental for ensuring a greener, more passenger-centric and more efficient air transport system. With the COVID-19 crisis only reinforcing those imperatives, we are delighted to be part of this new industry partnership together with EUROCONTROL Network Manager – and look forward to leveraging the SESAR programme to build back better.”