Flying high

A Head-to-Head with CS Soft and Terma

Lubomir Janda, Business Director for CS Soft and Søren Robenhagen, Director Sales and Marketing, AIR – Integrated Systems for Terma, discuss the current challenges and concerns of the air traffic control industry.

“Performance-based navigation has the potential to play a significant role in increasing the airspace capacity”
-Søren Robenhagen

What are the main challenges currently faced by air traffic management (ATM) in the Middle East region?
Lubomir Janda. We believe that the Middle East region can increase its airspace capacity by implementing the ATM systems with mutual conformance, by other words systems of defined and implemented interoperability.

In some Middle East countries the traffic is significantly growing annually but ATM systems are not upgraded accordingly. However, this is not typical for this region only. We expect that transiting traffic figures will not only grow but that inbound and outbound traffic originated in regional airports will soon reach figures which will call for efficient but not overly expensive regional ATM systems. These systems will also be capable of seamless data exchange with ‘mother’ ATM system, mastering the whole area. We are aware of the fact that all this depends very much on the strategy of local governments and offers of the ATM industry. We hope that Middle East countries will co-ordinate their systems upgrading activities and will achieve results leading to more uniformity of the systems.

Søren Robenhagen. The main challenge currently faced by air traffic management in the Middle East and Gulf region is caused by shortage of controllers, late introduction of modern ATC procedures and separation standards. Better training and management is required generally in the region and better co-operation between the Flight Information Region’s (FIR) (with emphasis on the single sky concept) as well as co-operation between civil and military operators, but also ensuring that the industry build systems that are able to work together. The real increase in airspace capacity comes when different systems are in line with the same airspace concept (CNS/ATM).

These problems present great expense if they aren’t solved, and in the Asia Pacific region alone, potential savings to airlines of some US$30-40 million were identified in 2007.

What role does performance-based navigation play in increasing airspace capacity?
LJ. The rules leading to the increase of airspace capacity are the same irrespective of the region concerned. A reliable ATM system has high data processing performance, functionalities enabling well-balanced executive and planning controllers loading, available tools like seamless data exchange within the system and with neighbours and faithful safety nets.

SR. Performance-based navigation (PBN) has the potential to play a significant role in increasing the airspace capacity; provided that it is utilised by the ATM systems working on top of the Communication Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems. Another very important advantage is reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

In the Middle East and Gulf region PBN is lagging behind in most FIRs, and there is significant increase in capacity to gain by introducing PBN in the region.

Amid the region’s economic boom, the UAE’s aviation industry has grown exponentially and concerns have been raised that flights over the Gulf would begin to be funnelled into increasingly crowded air corridors. How real is the problem of air congestion for the Middle East and how is this problem being tackled?
LJ. The congestion of ATS routes in this region can be seen from two main perspectives – operational solutions and ATM system architecture. We provide a system enabling a high standard of route flexibility in terms of free flying between any points known to the ATM system. Thus irrespective of a more or less fixed route structure you can split the air traffic in the free airspace, bringing less complex traffic situation over route junctions, a fewer number of potential conflicts and lower ATCO loading, and additionally it brings a fuel saving. But, on the other hand, this demands a certain degree of civil and military co-ordination in terms of flexible use of the airspace.

SR. Air congestion and bottlenecks in the Middle East and Gulf region are huge problems and the biggest FIRs are currently redesigning their airspace to create adequate feeding into major airports. This means that ATM is an extremely important factor in the area, with big demands in personnel, technical equipment, education, skills and experience plus good co-operation between civil/military service providers and civil/military air operators.

Central and Northern Europe previously had a big problem with lack of civil/military co-operation, until Eurocontrol recommended that member states established and authorised joint civil/military Airspace Management Cells (AMCs) to conduct day-to-day airspace allocation and management in close co-operation with the Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) in Bruxelles. Amongst others this means common use of airspace co-ordinated between civil and military controllers, temporary segregated areas only being activated when used and military aircraft flying according to General Air Traffic (GAT) rules, when in such airspace. Another expression for this concept is Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA). When implementing this service function and demand of qualifications for civil and military controllers, many Eurocontrol countries overcame previous problems, why this could be a strategy to follow in the Middle East and Gulf region in order to gain the same benefits. 

Can you explain some of the new strategies and tools that are being employed to ensure optimal use of airspace? What role does your technology play in this?
LJ. The very basic strategic tool ensuring optimal use of airspace should be FUA implementation in Middle East region tailored to local conditions. Tactical tools should be based on efficient sharing of air traffic data and data exchanged between all airspace users, mainly between civil and military, one common data source of aircraft positions and seamless and effective co-ordination of the flight progress.

SR. Obviously the CNS supporting systems has to be implemented, but it is not done with that, the ATM systems have to utilise the CNS systems in an intelligent way. One of the new tools being employed is Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC). Terma’s DataLink Flex is a platform for data link applications with Departure Clearance (DCL), Digital ATIS and VOLMET running on top. DCL has a particularly important role to play in increasing airspace capacity. DCL refers to the automated service through data link for requesting and delivering departure information and clearance that adheres to ICAO’s recommendations on read-back procedures between the pilot and the controller.

Terma’s DCL solutions have been implemented at major international airports in Europe and Asia that have already testified to the efficiency and benefits from their operational use. They unanimously prove that these systems increase operational efficiency, reduce flight delays, boost airport regularity and enhance safety including reduction in fuel consumption and thereby greenhouse gas emissions.

Safe landing

A quick-thinking air traffic controller’s texting saved an aircraft with five people on board, which had lost all communications and electrical power. The light aircraft has taken off from Kerry airport in Ireland on a flight to Jersey in the English Channel when it had a complete electrical failure.

The pilot tried to contact Kerry airport and air traffic control in Cork on his mobile phone, and briefly made contact with Cork, to tell them the problem. He then received a text message on his mobile from the controller at Cork advising him that he was on radar and that he was allowed to land the plane at Cork airport.

He followed the controller’s instruction given by text. The undercarriage gear had to be lowered manually, and the aircraft did a fly-by of the control tower so that controllers could check that the wheels were down. The aircraft landed safely.

Lubomir Janda, CS Soft Business Director
CS soft portfolio covers not only “full size” ATM systems for ACC control, but as well systems for tower and approach control. This “small size” ATM system is very compact and for regional airport users has advantages also in covering the system maintenance.

Søren Robenhagen, Director Sales and Marketing, AIR – Integrated Systems for Terma
Søren has throughout his career worked with sales and business development within the Shipping, Telecom and Air Traffic Management Industry, and has more than 15 years of experience within the B-t-B segment, in particular highly technical and advanced solutions. He took up the position as Account Manager – within Terma A/S´s business unit "AIR" under the business area “Integrated Systems” in December 2006, and is today responsible for the entire Sales and Marketing of Terma’s product portfolio within Air Traffic Management.