The SESAR Joint Undertaking has published the fourth edition of the SESAR Solutions Catalogue, charting progress in developing the technological and procedural solutions needed for delivering the Digital European Sky. The solutions captured in this latest edition offer a pathway towards recovery, and a smarter and more sustainable air transport system in Europe.
The publication contains 101 delivered solutions (reaching required level of maturity for industrialisation) addressing key areas of the air traffic management value chain, notably airport operations, air traffic services, network operations and the enabling infrastructure. As much as two thirds of the delivered solutions are now part of deployment plans at local and European levels, meeting the business needs and resulting tangible benefits in terms of performance.
The Catalogue also presents details of the ongoing research and innovation on 80 candidate solutions in SESAR 2020, and progress towards the vision of the digital European sky. Finally, the publication gives a flavour of what’s on the horizon thanks to promising innovations underway in all three strands of research (exploratory, industrial and demonstrations).
The combination of the climate and COVID crises is accelerating a societal shift towards more sustainable air transport and renewing momentum among airports, airlines and ANSPs to rethink their business models and operations. The dual crisis also means that collaboration and the pooling of resources is more critical than ever, since industry-wide challenges can only be overcome together.
Although developed prior to the pandemic, the solutions captured in this fourth edition of the SESAR Solutions Catalogue offer a pathway to recovery in the short term, while also laying the foundations for a more far-reaching transformation of ATM.
Considering the urgency of the climate situation, the Catalogue also shows that many of the solutions delivered so far offer direct and indirect gains for the environment, whether it is lowering fuel consumption or minimising noise. In doing so the Catalogue illustrates the role air traffic management can play in making aviation and air transport more sustainable, in line with Europe’s Grean Deal ambitions.
“Through our partnership we are advancing technologies that will make the system more scalable and resilient to disruptions like the pandemic, as well as more fuel efficient and environmentally sustainable,” said Richard Frizon, Executive Director ad interim, SESAR Joint Undertaking.
“We would all like to see Europe leading globally in digital innovation, making a real difference and creating interoperable as well as cyber-secured systems. I am proud that SESAR, as illustrated in this catalogue, is keeping Europe at the cutting edge of technology, innovation and collaboration,” Henrik Hololei, Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission, and Chair of the SESAR JU Administrative Board.
“It is the role of the SESAR project, under the leadership of the European Commission, to propose a global European solution to all these challenges. This new version of the SESAR solutions catalogue is a key enabler as it makes available many key validated components to all European Aviation stakeholders,” Eamonn Brennan, Director General, EUROCONTROL, and Vice-Chairman of the SESAR JU Administrative Board.
