I have always wondered whether passengers notice the organized chaos that characterizes aircraft at the gate, getting ready for its next trip. Whether it is a 737 operated by a low-cost carrier getting turned around in as little as 20 minutes or a 747 heading to the other side of the world and readied for… Continue reading The TITAN project – one year down the road
Tag: EC
Shorter night routes in FABEC – is this an achievement?
Working in air traffic management on occasion one gets the impression that a lot of people have very short memories. Take for instance the proud announcement from FABEC (Functional Airspace Block Europe Central) to the effect that as part of the harmonization of European airspace, shorter night routes are being offered on 115 cross-border connections.… Continue reading Shorter night routes in FABEC – is this an achievement?
Air/ground digital link and CPDLC – Airworhtiness and compliance
Stakeholders have expressed some uncertainty about how to comply with EC 29/2009, the Data Link Services Implementing Rule. In partnership with the European Commission and EASA the EUROCONTROL LINK Programme has been working to address those concerns. A stakeholder workshop was held in March 2010 to address the issues and a brochure is now available… Continue reading Air/ground digital link and CPDLC – Airworhtiness and compliance
SESAR and SWIM – things are slowly becoming reality
Good news at long last Not so long ago, I was asked to make a presentation about System Wide Information Management (SWIM) to the participants of a project we are involved in. While most of the audience noted what I said and asked a few relevant questions, there was also a small minority who expressed… Continue reading SESAR and SWIM – things are slowly becoming reality
AIXM 5.1 arrives in operational service
You can be excused if the abbreviation AIXM does not ring any bells… I mean, to fly or control aircraft, you do not need to know what AIXM is… just enjoy its benefits. Of course if you are a regular reader of Roger-Wilco, you will have seen our articles on System Wide Information Management and… Continue reading AIXM 5.1 arrives in operational service
Air Traffic Management déjà vu
Reading Henning’s article and with my up-close-and-intimate involvement in the SESAR definition phase (and the 20 or so years leading up to it) I could not escape a terrible feeling of déjà vu. This was only strengthened when I read the news about ANSP CEOs rumbling that the performance targets of the EU’s Single Sky… Continue reading Air Traffic Management déjà vu
Ramp inspections at European Union airports – SAFA
News from EUROCONTROL’s aviation safety knowledge base SKYbrary. The European Community Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) program began in 1996 as a voluntary ECAC program. Its legal basis was subsequently established by Directive 2004/36/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 – the so-called “SAFA Directive”. Under this legislation,… Continue reading Ramp inspections at European Union airports – SAFA
European ATM – Is there anything really new under the Sun?
Back in March, Daniel Calleja, Director of the European Commission’s Air Transport Directorate, informed his audience at the ATC Global conference in Amsterdam, that “…despite six years’ effort, Europe has yet to achieve its objective of creating a Single European Sky (SES).” Six years indeed… make that thirteen Mr. Calleja. Thankfully I do not attend… Continue reading European ATM – Is there anything really new under the Sun?
Volcano kicks European ATM cooperation into high gear
In the past, programs to improve European air traffic management went under the name EATCHIP (1 to many) and the results were meager at best. More recently we got the Single European Sky (SES 1 and now 2) and of course SESAR. Introduction of SES was a major problem even for the European Commission powerhouse… Continue reading Volcano kicks European ATM cooperation into high gear
TITAN stakeholder workshop – 17 March 2010
TITAN is an EC 7th Framework project and the acronym stands for “Turnaround Integration in Trajectory and Network”. As its name suggests, TITAN is looking at ways of optimizing the turnaround process while integrating it in trajectory based, net-centric operations. The Workshop held in Brussels on 17 March 2010 had two objectives: on the one… Continue reading TITAN stakeholder workshop – 17 March 2010