The SESAR Joint Undertaking hosted a session on the European ATM Master Plan on 9 March at the World ATM Congress in Madrid. The session concluded a year-long campaign in which all ATM stakeholders provided their input into the latest edition of the Plan.
The Plan clearly demonstrates the critical importance of ATM in the future air transport system, said Florian Guillermet, SESAR JU, who opened the session. The plan, which was published in December 2015, shows the step changes that technology could enable if deployment is secured in an optimal way and if the baseline assumptions are confirmed, he added.
The Plan was published shortly after the European Commission’s new aviation strategy which gives fresh impetus to the competitiveness of this industry. The importance of aviation and ATM for the economy of Europe was underlined by Jacek Krawczyk, Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). As citizens, we all ask for a safe, sustainable (greener), punctual and cost-efficient aviation and air traffic management is a key player to achieve this, he told participants.
During a panel discussion, participants also heard the views of the stakeholders directly impacted by the Plan, from airspace users, air navigation service providers, airports, industry, to the Network Manager, military, professional staff and standardisation bodies. They all expressed their satisfaction with the Plan, in terms of providing a holistic view of the future system and the balance that the plan has struck between the key performance areas of cost efficiency, operational efficiency and capacity. They also noted how the plan successfully provides an integrated view of the ATM system, approach to change management as well as an outline of the standards and regulations needed to support deployment.
In a second panel, representatives from the European Commission, Eurocontrol, and EASA recognised the challenge of combining sometimes diverging needs and interests, but the wide commitment of all key players to the Plan would facilitate further collaboration and achieving results together. The panel emphasized the need carefully monitor progress in implementing the Plan.
Closing the session, Massimo Garbini, SESAR Deployment Manager, said that the adoption of the Master Plan was a resounding sign of support by stakeholders. He assured participants that now all parts of the SESAR lifecycle are working as one to ensure that the vision of the Master Plan becomes a reality.