What is the added value of being a member of the SESAR 3 JU?

In principle, the main pillars of SESAR JU such as Digital ATM, Intermodality, Sustainability, Airport Integration and Urban Air Mobility, are aligned with AIA’s strategic objectives, for safe, efficient, digitalized and sustainable operations. In this context, by being a member of SESAR 3 JU, Athens International Airport S.A. (AIA) has the privilege to be part of the greater SESAR community of aviation stakeholders, contributing to the co-development of the content of focused Research & Innovation (R&I), towards industrialized solutions and deployment of ATM functionalities, under future Common Projects. Close cooperation with aviation partners at pan-European level and partnership under co-funded SESAR R&I projects contributes to building expertise, experience and strong bonds, with mutual short and long-term benefits. Last but certainly not least, being part of this process, prepares our organization for the future deployment of innovative technologies and places AIA in a better position for adopting future technologies.

Why is air traffic management and its digital transformation important to AIA?

Airports are the entry and exit points to the European ATM network and are considered to be key contributors to the overall network performance. Airport operators act as ground coordinators (GC) to optimise capacity on the ground, leading the collaboration of all operational stakeholders at local level, for end-to-end synchronization of ground processes with airspace operations, thus ensuring alignment of the Airport Operations Plan (AOP) with the Network Operations Plan (NOP). The Digital transformation of the ATM, i.e. the integration of digital technology into all areas of Air Traffic Management and Airport Operations, under a collaborative performance management approach, fundamentally changes the way we all cooperate, allowing us all (Airports and ATM) to become much more efficient and, ultimately, to deliver high-value services to the travelling public and our business partners.  

What are AIA’s top three innovation priorities?

Our top three innovation priorities are: Multimodality and passenger experience, Artificial Intelligence and U-space and Urban Air mobility.

In which flagships of the Digital European Sky programme is AIA particularly interested in getting involved, and why?

• Aviation Green Deal: AIA is interested in getting more involved in this domain, under SESAR JU. Currently, AIA is a partner in the Stargate project, which has received funding from the European Green Deal, aiming to develop innovations and initiatives for an accelerated transition to a greener aviation, including small and large projects and focused on three main areas: a further decarbonisation, improving the quality of the local environment and promoting a modal shift;  
• Capacity on demand and dynamic airspace: Enhancing the current AOP-NOP integration in tactical and pre-tactical planning;
• Multimodality and passenger experience: Development of seamless and efficient end-to-end passenger processes between airports and other modes of transport, for offering passengers an upscaled travel experience;
• Artificial Intelligence: Development of predictive models for all aspects of airside, terminal and landside operations. This applies to pre-tactical and tactical planning, for optimized resources’ planning, improving the overall operational efficiency and increasing resilience of the airport to resist disruptions; 
• U-space and Urban Air mobility: UAM deployment in complex airspace, for safe and efficient integration of drone and eVTOL operations within the airport operating environment, taking into account all aspects of social embracement.

Furthermore, AIA is highly interested in exploratory research in aviation safety related aspects.