Fly4D takes off

The Fly4D consortium – led by Airbus with Cassidian, Honeywell, Lufthansa Systems and Sabre Airline Solutions– has been awarded a contract to perform SESAR sub-work package 11.1 (Flight and Wing Operations Centres). This challenging work addresses the definition, the development and the validation of Airspace User’s future flight planning and control systems and procedures in support of the SESAR ATM Target Concept. The selected consortium consists of world leaders in this domain, and will be working closely with the SESAR JU Members and overall the airspace user community on this critical topic. First validation results are already expected by the end of 2012. The contract is signed by EUROCONTROL on behalf of the SESAR Joint Undertaking.
The SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) programme is one of the most ambitious research and development projects ever launched by the European Union. The foundation of the SESAR ATM Target Concept is trajectory-based operations. A trajectory representing the business/mission intentions of the Airspace Users, and integrating Air Traffic Management and airport constraints, is elaborated and agreed for each flight. Trajectory based operations ensure that the Airspace User flies its trajectory close to its intent in the most efficient way.
Patrick KY, Executive Director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking commented: “We are the first in the world to start to integrate ATM future concepts with airlines operations. This is truly a breakthrough in our sector of activity.”