System Wide Information Management (SWIM) is becoming an operational reality in Air Traffic Management (ATM). This was clear to see on 23 June in Brussels, where more than 100 participants from all over the world convened to kick-off the 2015 SESAR SWIM Master Class.

The SWIM framework consists of standards, infrastructure and governance enabling the sharing of the right information to the right ATM stakeholders at the right time. A number of SWIM-enabled solutions are currently in the pipeline for development by the SESAR Joint Undertaking, as part of its latest phase of validation exercises, while plans are underway by the SJU to demonstrate the use of SWIM in a number of operationally relevant scenarios with a global relevance. SWIM developments are also taking place beyond the programme, which is where the SESAR SWIM Master Class comes in. The event offers participants an opportunity to learn about SESAR SWIM developments and to share their knowledge and expertise on SWIM and prompt new ideas and partnerships.

“One of our main goals with the Master Class is to broaden the community’s understanding of SWIM and encourage synergy between what is being developed within SESAR and outside the programme,” explained Wim Post, Head of Programme Management at the SESAR Joint Undertaking. “Ultimately it is about creating a community of interest, and, going upon the strength of the Master Class participation, we believe that this community is starting to take shape.”

Testifying to the value of the SESAR SWIM Master Class came from Luciad, one of the 2014 winners: “Beyond the benefits such as access open standards and interoperability, the SESAR SWIM Master Class provides a reality check to test the concept and a great reference for investors,” said Robin Houtmeyers, Luciad Team Leader.

Ruben Flohr, ATM Information Management Expert, presented the latest on SESAR SWIM standardisation. He noted the importance of finding the right balance between standardisation needs for interoperability and the need for quality of service. All information related to services and reference material linked to information, infrastructure and compliance, can be found in the SESAR SWIM Registry, which was presented by Dirk Janssens, SESAR SWIM Exploitation Project Manager at Eurocontrol. Meanwhile, Tim Eyselberg, also from Eurocontrol, took participants on a tour of recent developments in SWIM Jumpstart, a user-friendly demonstrator tool of SWIM that is facilitating greater engagement in SWIM.

Guy Potiron, representing the SESAR Deployment Manager, presented the SWIM part of the SESAR Deployment Programme and the steps being taken to deploy initial SWIM (iSWIM) across Europe by 2025 [1]. Its deployment will see the provision of services for aeronautical, meteorological, cooperative network and flight information exchange through IP networks.

Up to the end of October, participants in the SESAR SWIM Master Class will compete for the "Best-in-Class" award for SWIM compliant services and applications. The award will be presented at a dedicated ceremony on 10 December 2015. Participation is still open for organisations interested in competing for the Class and in contributing to making SWIM a reality.

[1] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2014 of 27 June 2014 on the establishment of the Pilot Common Project supporting the implementation of the European Air Traffic Management Master Plan Text with EEA relevance

<Confirm your participation to the SESAR SWIM Master Class>

Download the presentations from the launch event: