Brussels, Belgium – EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, today accepted the SESAR ATM Target Concept, the fundamental contribution for guiding the development of the European ATM system as part of the SESAR programme. The ATM Target Concept describes the future European ATM concept of operations for 2020 and beyond, and the supporting architecture and technologies. It provides a first assessment of the expected ability to meet the performance targets identified in the previous work of SESAR and of the cost and benefit aspects.

The future European ATM system represents a paradigm shift from an airspace-based to a trajectory-based environment allowing the safe and environmentally-friendly execution of each flight as close as possible to the intention of its owner. It will be service-oriented and based on a partnership involving all stakeholders for achieving the agreed performance targets. It will be realised through the introduction of new features and techniques: 4D trajectory management enabling user-preferred routing (except where or when the provision of sufficient capacity requires a more structured  network); a collaborative planning and demand/capacity balancing of the network operations; the introduction of new separation modes; a better integration of the airports in the ATM system; and enhanced automation to assist the human, underpinned by a system-wide information management allowing each stakeholder to exploit the power of shared information integrating aircraft and ground facilities.

The preliminary assessment of the ATM Target Concept indicates that it contributes positively to achieving the SESAR performance targets, although the capacity and cost-effectiveness targets in some areas (e.g. major hub airports, high density airspace) can only be achieved through supplemental actions (e.g. additional runways, Functional Airspace Blocks - FABs). The assessment also concludes that the ongoing European initiatives (EUROCONTROL and sub-regional) are already establishing solid foundations for the Concept. 

“We are pleased to accept the ATM Target Concept from industry,” said Bernard Miaillier, the SESAR Project Manager at EUROCONTROL. “This is a cornerstone for SESAR since it provides the operational concept and enabling elements of the future European ATM system which will be the reference to build the SESAR Master Plan for the 2020 ATM system.”

The ATM Target Concept is the third deliverable (“D3”) of the SESAR Definition Phase and it can be found on EUROCONTROL’s website: www.eurocontrol.int, together with links to the stakeholder feedback process organised for this report.

Source: Eurocontrol
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