Overview
The Single European Sky was launched by the European Commission in 1999, its primary aim being to meet future capacity and safety needs through legislation. With the Single European Sky second package (SES II), a step forward has been made towards establishing targets in key areas of safety, network capacity, effectiveness and environmental impact. Single European Sky drove the transformation of the role of EUROCONTROL, which could become the Network Manager of the European ATM network.
On the technology side, SES is supported by the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) Programme, which will provide advanced technologies and procedures with a view to modernising and optimising the future European ATM network.
Background Information
Given the complexity of the programme, a legal entity known as theSESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) was founded by the European Union and Eurocontrol, to coordinate and concentrate all relevant research and development efforts in the Community. The mission of the SESAR Joint Undertaking is to develop a modernised air traffic management system for Europe. This future system will ensure the safety and fluidity of air transport over the next thirty years, will make flying more environmentally friendly and reduce the costs of air traffic management.
In a move to ‘kick start’ implementation of initiatives related to the SES, the SJU have put forward to the European Commission six Pilot Common Projects (PCPs) which will constitute the first batch of technical and/or operational/avionic changes in the 2014-2020 timeframe. Two of these six PCPs are expected to have an impact on regional aircraft:
- RNP capabilities for regional aircraft operations into major airports, which is a key functional improvement, addressing critical network performance deficiencies.
- Initial sharing of trajectory information between air and ground using a technology called “i4D”.
ERA’s Current Position
ERA and the SJU have held face to face meetings with regional aircraft manufacturers to establish a defined value judgement of the impact that these two PCPs could have on regional operations in the future.
Useful links
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/single_european_sky/
http://www.eurocontrol.int/sesar/public/standard_page/overview.html
http://www.sesarju.eu/about
Papers
All associated papers are available by clicking on the Related Download button on this page.
Contacts
For further assistance please contact keith.hanrahan@eraa.org