Demonstration Activities aim to bridge R&D towards deployment proving the benefits of SESAR solutions in real-life environments. Against this background, a range of stakeholders from airlines, air navigation service providers, the manufacturing industry and airports work together on projects lasting maximum 24 months in order to demonstrate SESAR concepts and technologies.
Following the 2012 call for tender, there are currently 18 SESAR Demonstration Projects running across Europe and the North Atlantic, which are co-financed by the SESAR Joint Undertaking.
A workshop held in Lisbon at the end of November, brought together over 40 experts, representing 60+ organisations, working together on demonstration activities in Europe and the North Atlantic. The aim of the workshop was for participants to share and review preliminary results.
The event, held on the 28th and 29th of November was hosted by Nav Portugal, who has supported SESAR Demonstration Activities right from the launch of the initiative in 2008. On opening the workshop, Luis Ottolini Coimbra, CEO of Nav Portugal, stated: “We are very pleased with the results achieved by SESAR Demonstration Activities and look forward to the further expansion of these type of activities within the context of the extension of the SESAR Joint Undertaking.”
The preliminary results shared by participants demonstrate that on more than 5000 commercial flights, involving over 20 air operators, significant performance gains can be achieved on flights within Europe, as well as flights between Europe and North America, Latin America or Africa. These performance gains cover a wide range of key performance areas, including better customer satisfaction (through smoother flights and punctuality), environmental efficiency, air navigation service provision productivity, safety and capacity. Furthermore, some of the projects are also taking advantage of and complementing results achieved by other European initiatives, such as Clean Sky.
In order to further enhance the commitment of bridging R&D towards deployment, the Administrative Board of the SESAR Joint Undertaking agreed in its meeting on 12 December to launch a new call for proposals in the first quarter of 2014– in particular those supporting the preparation of deployment, small and regional airports, Business and General aviation solutions, global interoperability in the context of SEAR Going Global initiative and addressing horizontal features such as cyber security or safety.
The SESAR Joint Undertaking will showcase further results from this increasingly significant portfolio of SESAR solutions at the upcoming World ATM Congress, taking place in Madrid in March 2014, while the Projects results will be published at their completion.
By working together on SESAR Demonstration projects, the European aviation community is proving that the first SESAR solutions for the future air traffic management system are both operational and ready for industrialisation.
