Sesar Air Traffic Management Project and Navigation 4D
The key to the future air traffic management system in Europe is SESAR. It unites the common vision of different actors on the pending challenges and their will to unify the European airspace, associated with a technological modernization and an adaptation of the systems to respond to current demand and future growth. The development phase of the SESAR program, which began in 2009, includes the research and development tasks foreseen in the strategic plan and has a budget of 2,100 million euros. These funds are contributed, in equal parts, by the European Commission and Euro control, and the industry, which figure in more than 30,000 million the deployment phase, which contemplates the large-scale implementation of the Program until 2030. Enaire, Spanish airport manager and provider of air navigation services, is one of the reference partners of the program. He leads the area of ​​airport operations and participates in 95 of the 300 projects that comprise the program. Figure in more than 30,000 million the deployment phase, which contemplates the large-scale implementation of the Program until 2030. Enaire, Spanish airport manager and provider of air navigation services, is one of the reference partners of the program. He leads the area of ​​airport operations and participates in 95 of the 300 projects that comprise the program. In total, its contribution to SESAR amounts to some 74 million euros, with a maximum co-financing of 36.4 million.

Thales, on the other hand, participates in NextGen and Clean Sky - whose objective is to make air transport more sustainable and competitive - and also plays a decisive role in air traffic management, participating in all the programs and being one of the the companies that have contributed the most personnel to promote this common European initiative. One of the projects in which the company collaborates is the application of 4D technology to air traffic management. In 2012, Airbus conducted an essay on it on a flight from Toulouse to Copenhagen and to Stockholm. Its main advantage is that it reduces fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The management of the 4D trajectory is based on a prediction function and transmission of the data to ground, which results in a longer itinerary accurate and allows to optimize flight planning by dispensing with the vector instructions of the controllers. The result is a reduction in the waiting times of the aircraft during the landing, since traffic flows are more predictable.


 
 

A NEW AERIAL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

This new technology, currently in experimental phase, will be implemented progressively from 2018. In addition to the 4D model, another work axis of Thales is to ensure that two aircraft with the same trajectory in the air are able to maintain the distance of separation without the indications of an air traffic controller. In this way, the new avionics systems could supply the air traffic controller in remote areas where radars do not reach, which would result in a new air traffic management; improvement of safety and operating efficiency. On the other hand, the commitment to modernize the air traffic management system is also making progress not only in flight, but also at the airport, with solutions such as Digital Taxi, which allows the pilot to know their position through digital maps , indicating the trajectory from the runway to minimize the risk of collisions.
 

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