SESAR – SINGLE EUROPEAN SKY ATM RESEARCH
SESAR is one of the most the most ambitious research and development projects ever launched by the European Community. The programme is the technological and operational dimension of the Single European Sky (SES) initiative to meet future capacity and air safety needs.
SESAR has four key high level objectives:
- Enabling a threefold increase in capacity;
- Improving safety by a factor of 10;
- Reducing ATM costs by 50%;
- Reducing environmental impact by 10%.
Given the complexity of the programme, a legal entity was founded by the European Commission and Eurocontrol, to coordinate and concentrate all relevant research and development efforts in the Community. This legal entity is known as the SESAR Joint Undertaking (JU).
The mission of the SESAR JU is to develop a modernised air traffic management system for Europe. This future system will ensure the safety and fluidity of air transport over the next thirty years, will make flying more environmentally friendly and reduce the costs of air traffic management. All of the key stakeholders in Air Traffic Management (ATM) are involved including airlines, air navigation service providers, manufacturers, the military, and airports.
SESAR is not just a research programme. Its aim is to provide tangible results and improvements to the European ATM framework. Currently the SESAR JU is responsible for the coordination of around 300 projects within which there are major work streams on areas such as operational activities (including airport operations), system development, and system wide information management (SWIM).
Within the SESAR JU, airports are represented by an airports consortium (SEAC) which comprises representation from Aeroports de Paris, BAA, Fraport, Munich, Schiphol and Zurich. The formal SESAR documentation notes that through “communication between the Consortium and ACI Europe, communication and consultation will be achieved for the airports outside of the formal Consortium arrangements, particularly the numerous smaller airports in Europe”. AOA also maintains close contact with BAA on these matters, and has arranged representation at the Eurocontrol Airport Operations Team (AOT) where airport related SESAR implementation is discussed, representation on the ACI Europe SESAR Task Force, and has formed its own SES / SESAR Working Group under the auspices of its main Operations and Safety Group.
The SESAR programme has been established in three phases:
- The Definition Phase (2005 – 2008)
- The Development Phase (2009 – 2013)
- The Deployment Phase (2014 – 2020)
The Definition Phase identified the technological and operational steps and modernisation priorities necessary for the implementation of a new ATM Concept. This phase delivered the SESAR ATM Master Plan and identified the detailed work programme which needs to be undertaken in order to develop the target concepts. The ATM Master Plan is a living document which will be updated throughout the programme.
The Development Phase is charged with delivering the new equipment and standards to ensure, through the regulatory mechanisms of the Single European Sky, the replacement of the existing ground and airborne systems and interoperability with those outside Europe.
The Deployment Phase will comprise the large-scale production, procurement and implementation of the new ATM infrastructure and of the corresponding aircraft equipment. This phase will involve direct industry funding.
References:
- Related Topics
- Other Sections
- Press Releases
- Reports & Publications