Austro Control active internationally

"Making Europe the most efficient and environmentally friendly sky to fly in the world" was the motto of the SESAR JA Annual Conference on 18 January. As part of a high-ranking panel, Managing Director Elisabeth Landrichter discussed the topic of "A new service delivery model for ATM in Europe" with Arndt Schönemann, CEO of DFS, Iacopo Prissinotti, Director, Network Management Directorate and industry representatives, among others, i.e. how air navigation services will have to be provided in the future in order to successfully meet the increasing challenges, particularly with regard to climate protection and an ever-increasing volume of air traffic. The aim is to establish a system by 2035 with a modular, service-orientated, open and cloud-based architecture that enables the seamless exchange of components without the need to recertify entire systems. This should make the European network more flexible and resilient.

But what does it take to achieve this? Elisabeth Landrichter addressed some of the most important requirements in her statement: "The industry needs a standardised view of the target architecture and a technological roadmap, and we are already well on the way to achieving this as part of our COOPANS alliance and our partner Thales. The most important thing, however, will be human factors; we need to get people on board at an early stage and involve them in the process of technological development."

The topic of a new "Service Delivery Model" for ATM was also intensively pursued at the highest level on 19 February by Austro Control CEO Philipp Piber in his role as Chairman of the A6 Steering Board. Firstly in the context of a high-level meeting with the A6 CEOs, SESAR JU and the industry. The broad support for the project was emphasised, but it was now a matter of defining a realistic roadmap for implementation together with the manufacturers by the end of the year and drawing up a clear regulatory roadmap with EASA. Philipp Piber: "For this new "Service Delivery Model" to become a reality, all stakeholders, including SJU, SDM, EASA, Eurocontrol and the European Commission, must be fully on board to ensure a synchronised and successful implementation across Europe."

Eurocontrol signs joint agreement

Also on board is Eurocontrol, which co-signed the existing joint agreement between ANSPs and industry to establish a new "Service Delivery Model" in the course of another high-level meeting with the A6 CEOs at this A6 meeting. "This is an important milestone for the development of European Air Traffic Management. With the signing of this agreement, A6 and EUROCONTROL reaffirm their joint commitment to a more robust, efficient and future-proof ATM system that meets the requirements of an increasingly complex and dynamic airspace," emphasised Philipp Piber at the signing ceremony with Eurocontrol Director General Raul Medina.