ENAV
ENAV is the Italian company that provides Air Traffic Control service, as well as other services for air navigation, in Italy's skies and in 45 national civilian airports. Cruise phases are guaranteed by Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) who operate in the Area Control Centres (ACCs) situated in Brindisi, Milano, Padova and Roma. ENAV carries out this task by guaranteeing to thousands of aircrafts flying daily over our skies the possibility of coexisting in utmost safety. Such services are guaranteed thanks to the commitment of more than 3,300 employees, two thirds of whom involved in operational activities.
Professionals with a high level of specialisation who enable the safe navigation of high volumes of traffic with peaks that can exceed 7,600 flights per day.
Vincenzo Smorto, Chief Technology Officer at ENAV
What is the added value of being a member of the SESAR 3 JU?
Being a Member of the SESAR3 JU is extremely important to ENAV for several reasons: firstly, as the SESAR3 JU is a network of stakeholders who share the same objective of increasing aviation performance and implementing the Digital European Sky, participation in the SESAR initiative allows ENAV to be part of this change. ENAV is able to contribute its knowledge and expertise while growing and advancing at the same time. Our objectives align with those of SESAR, which is essential for an organisation of ANSPs like ENAV, as it allows us to learn from similar cases and to share developments ensuring the implementation of technological harmonisation across Europe under standardized operational concepts. In addition, the SESAR 3 JU is a very powerful planning environment. Tools such as the Master Plan, used for long term planning, alongside Digital Sky Demonstrators proves that real short-term maturity of the technology for operations provides effective support to stakeholders.
Why is air traffic management and its digital transformation important to ENAV?
The digital transformation of ATM is a process that can no longer be delayed. The civil aviation community during the COVID crisis missed the opportunity to start the implementation of objectives outlined in the 2019 Airspace Architecture Study. It is essential that we make up the time with a comprehensive plan that reduces the gap between the development and the deployment phase. The digital transformation of ATM is expected to bring efficiency to operations. This will be achieved through the implementation of several tools aimed at furthering the automation of the ATM system, as well as with new information aimed to enrich ATCO systems, improving operations and decision-making processes. Additionally, the digital transformation will create different business models, such as using information and data processed and provided by stakeholders outside the ANSP perimeter, materialising the ATM data service provision model.
What are ENAV’s top three innovation priorities?
In the ACC environment ENAV is developing a brand-new automation platform that lays the foundation for future evolutions. These innovations concern the Conflict Resolution support, which is the processing of aircraft data and traffic complexity balancing. ENAV’s has a very ambitious business plan that already considering the implementation of more than 20 remote towers over the coming years. An additional innovation priority is the introduction of the multiple remote tower concept with the automation of some tasks thanks to advances in video signal processing which also involves conflict or hazards detection. ENAV is also strongly engaged in the identification of sustainable solutions using new technologies in buildings, power supply services and conditioning in order to reduce its environmental footprint decreasing costs of service provision. The plan includes the rationalisation of ENAV CNS infrastructures through the migration over Satellite based services and procedures, the identification of a Minimum Operating Network or the use of innovative ground systems with lower energy footprint.
In which flagships of the Digital European Sky programme is ENAV particularly interested in getting involved, and why?
Several of the investment priorities for ENAV, such as the ongoing initiatives in the digitalisation of the Italian Air Traffic Management environment fall under the Virtualisation and cyber-secure data sharing flagship of the Digital European Sky programme. Virtualization of ATM can be further broken down into its components of virtualised IT Systems, Voice Communication Systems and Controller Working Positions. The management of all these different aspects will enable the complete decoupling of the services delivered to customers from the location where services are effectively provided thus improving their resilience. These concepts and their practical delivery were already explored within the SESAR Programme. As of today, we see the deployment of virtualised infrastructures happening which will pave the way for alternative business models to adapt their regulated performance environment in the coming future.