Apr. 25, 2014

SESAR safety nets showcased

With increased air traffic to and from Europe, airports are faced with the challenge of more ground operations and surface traffic moving across runways, taxiways and aprons. To enable airports to maintain the highest level of safety standards in these conditions, the SESAR Programme is developing several safety net tools for air traffic controllers. *Some of these SESAR solutions were demonstrated at three one-day interactive demo sessions in March.

The SESAR demo sessions, which took place at Eurocontrol’s Experimental Centre in Brétigny sur Orge, provided participants an opportunity to step into the shoes of ground and runway air traffic controllers and gain hands-on experience of how safety nets can enhance safety in airports. At the airport tower simulation facility, participants were updated on the latest SESAR developments regarding the Advanced Surface Movement Guidance & Control System (A-SMGCS), focusing on route deviation alerts, conflicting clearances and alerts for non-conformance to ATC instructions. Specifically, the demos allowed participants to see how the safety net tool works in real situations such as for:

  • Deviations from cleared route on taxiway or aircraft not stopping at clearance limit such as at a holding point;
  • Erroneous mobile behaviour, i.e. a mobile is entering the runway without clearance when aircraft is taxiing at a speed larger than the desired speed;
  • Aircraft on short final that has not been cleared to land or aircraft has landed but has stopped in the runway protection area;
  • Aircraft stays stationary after Take-off, Line-up or cross clearance is given;
  • The selected runway is inappropriate/unsuitable or is closed/inactive;
  • New route input with incorrect taxiways;
  • Two aircraft are given clearance to land/line up/take off on the same runway;
  • Vehicle cleared to cross when an aircraft has been cleared to take off on the same runway.

The sessions also demonstrated various features that are now possible thanks to the availability of A-SMGCS systems and electronic strips:

  • Integration of Electronic Flight Strips in the A-SMGCS;
  • Displaying relevant information per controller role only;
  • Generating routes to avoid unsuitable/unsafe areas;
  • Calculating accurate taxi times, which can then be used by the Airport-Collaborative Decision-making Platform;
  • Ensuring system-to-system coordination with approach and Terminal Manoeuvring Area (TMA) Air Traffic Service Units;
  • Switching off/on Airfield Ground Lighting.

The popularity of the sessions and feedback from participants demonstrates further the interest that stakeholders have in the growing number of solutions coming out of the SESAR Programme.

*The safety tools on show are just some of the many safety support solutions that are under development within the SESAR Programme. Check out the SESAR website to find out more about these projects:

06.07.01 - Airport safety support tools for pilots, vehicle drivers and controllers
SESAR Members involved: DSNA (Leader), Airbus, Alenia Aermacchi, DFS, Eurocontrol, NORACON, SEAC, Thales

06.07.02 - A-SMGCS Routing and planning functions
Members involved: DSNA (Leader), AENA, Airbus, ENAV, Eurocontrol, Indra, SEAC, Thales

06.07.03 - A-SMGCS Guidance Function
Members involved: ENAV (Leader), Airbus, ALENIA, DFS, EUROCONTROL, Honeywell, NATMIG, SEAC, SELEX, Thales

06.08.01 - Flexible and Dynamic Use of Wake Vortex Separations
Members involved: EUROCONTROL (Leader), Airbus, DSNA, NATS, Thales

06.08.02 - Enhanced Runway Management Through Optimised Braking Systems
Members involved: Eurocontrol, Airbus, NATS, NORACON.

06.08.03 - Separation minima reductions across flight phases
Members involved: AENA (Leader), ENAV, Eurocontrol, Thales.

06.08.04 - Coupled AMAN-DMAN
Members involved: DFS (Leader), AENA, DSNA, ENAV, EUROCONTROL, Indra, NATS, NORACON, SEAC, Thales

06.08.05 - GBAS operational implementation
Members involved: AENA (Leader), Airbus, ENAV, Eurocontrol, SEAC, Thales

06.09.02 - Advanced integrated CWP (A-CWP)
Members involved: AENA (Leader), DSNA, ENAV, Eurocontrol, Frequentis, SEAC, Selex ES

06.08.07 - Improved weather resilience - re-classify criteria for Low Visibility Procedures (LVP).  
Members involved: ENAV (Leader), Alenia, Eurocontrol, Selex ES.

12.03.02 Enhanced Surface Safety Nets
SESAR Members involved: Thales (Leader), DFS, DSNA, Eurocontrol, Indra, NATMIG, Selex Ex

09.14 - Airport Surface Alerts (ownership and traffic)
SESAR Members involved: Airbus (Leader), Alenia Aermacchi, Honeywell, Thales.

Find out more about SESAR Solutions