One of the products in the run-up to the SESAR world was/is the ATM Master Plan, setting out the when and the how of new air traffic management improvements for Europe. Based on this plan, there are several lower level thingies called implementation packages which show in more detail what will be done and when. Together they form the great PLAN that will hopefully bring the much needed improvements.
In the latest issue of SESAR e-news and in an article entitled “SESAR delivers in 2011” we now read the following.
“During the last meeting of the SESAR Joint Undertaking’s Administrative Board, the members accepted the SJU’s proposal for a first SESAR Release as part of the SESAR programme. The release will provide the air traffic community with the first tangible results coming from Europe’s ambitious ATM modernisation programme.
“SESAR has, is and will always be about delivering results which can be implemented easily. By the end of 2011, we will have the first programme deliverables validated in an operational environment with benefits for airlines, controllers, passengers, and the environment”, says Patrick Ky, Executive Director of the SJU.
Pending the final written approval of the plan, the first SESAR Release will include amongst others solutions for efficient and green terminal airspace operations, the initial 4D trajectory, integrated and collaborative network management and cooperative asset management.” (My accents.)
This piece of news can mean several things. Is the SJU bringing things forward compared to the original plan? Hence the need for final written approval of their proposal. One assumes that if this had been part of the original plan, such special dispensation would not be necessary. If it is indeed true that the implementation is being speeded up, the industry should be cheering. It is a pity that we will need to wait until 8 March to hear what exactly the content of this first release will be… and also, where and when it will be implemented. The buzzwords in the news item may mean any number of things…
Of course it is also logical to ask the question: had the SJU finally agreed that some of the time-frames used in the program were in fact flawed, pushing the really beneficial, paradigm changing elements beyond the horizon. Is their effort to push through a first release an action to save the day? This would be even better news!
It would be good if in the next issue of SESAR e-news we could have answers to these questions. While we wait impatiently for information on the contents of the first release, reading about what is in the background would make time pass much faster.