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Regional highlights: Europe

SITA at the heart of EUROCONTROL's CFMU service

EUROCONTROL provides centralized air traffic flow and capacity management services across Europe, to the benefit of both airlines and ANSPs.

To do this, the EUROCONTROL Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) needs to exchange extensive amounts of data with airlines and ANSPs - and in the near future, with
airports too. SITA plays a key and critical role in this exchange, through provision of a number of mission-critical services.

  • Airlines need to exchange information with the CFMU using the IATA Type B messaging format. SITA provides Type B services to EUROCONTROL.
  • Some airlines also need to access the CFMU application over the public Internet. SITA provides Internet access to EUROCONTROL.
  • Airlines need to send flight plan information to the CFMU. All European flight plans are routed via the international AFTN network to one of the six major European AFTN centres. SITA then connects these six AFTN centres to EUROCONTROL's CFMU over an X.25 service.
  • ANSPs need to exchange flow management data, slot allocation data and radar data with the CFMU over IP. SITA provides the IP network service between ANSPs and the CFMU, and also deploys and maintains turnkey FMP (Flow Management Position) desktop equipment at ANSP premises.
  • Some ANSPs need to receive surveillance data information from the CFMU. SITA provides an IP broadcast/multicast service from the CFMU to ANSPs.

SITA's infrastructure has been designed with full redundancy to support critical ATC applications, is operated on a 24/7 basis, and conforms to very stringent SLAs.

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Successful completion of VGS/ATN deployment with Germany's DFS

In 2004, DFS and SITA signed a partnership agreement by which SITA's VGS infrastructure in Germany (comprising VDLm2 and ACARS) would be transferred to DFS and
further developed to offer the level of service required to support ATN/VDLm2 service in the German airspace.

All deployments were successfully completed in 2008, according to the original schedule and budget. As of end 2008, the full ATN/VDLm2 infrastructure jointly deployed by
SITA and DFS now comprises 27 ground stations, 18 of which are equipped with VDLm2. It also features a fully redundant air/ground ATN router and complete monitoring
system for DFS VGS stations and the DSF ATN router.

The partnership between SITA and DFS for the provision of air/ground data link in a central part of European air space has already proved its added value in the provision of ATN/VDLm2 service to EUROCONTROL's Maastricht UACC.

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Supporting ESA study on future ATM satellite systems

The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a study on the feasibility of designing, launching and operating a satellite infrastructure to support future ATM applications
developed by the SESAR programme.

Named 'Iris', the proposed satellite communication system is envisioned as a multi-star network composed of one or more satellites, several fixed ground segment elements and several mobile user segment elements.

SITA participated in a consortium lead by Astrium and managed several aspects of the study, including:

  • Analysis of future ATC and AOC requirements
  • Definition of a possible business and service model for the operation of the future satellite service
  • Definition of certification and liability constraints

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SITA's role in the SES Industry Consultation Body

In 2004, the European Union launched a major initiative called the Single European Sky (SES) designed to foster integration of Air Traffic Management in Europe and create a seamless system that is no longer constrained by national boundaries.

The SES's key objectives encompass meeting the forecast increase in European air traffic volumes while improving the safety and performance of the European ATM and addressing environmental concerns.

The SES is enacted through legislative packages, and has already achieved significant results in the area of ANSP certification and controller license harmonization. The
next steps will address the evolution of the European ATM towards a performance-based system, and the extension of the scope of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to cover ground systems.

The European Commission is keen to involve the industry in the preparation of SES regulations. To that end, an Industry Consulting Body (ICB) was set up in 2004 to provide feedback to the Commission.

The ICB is organized around stakeholder groups (airspace users, ANSPs, airports, manufacturing industry, professional organizations, etc). SITA represents the Communication Service Provider stakeholder group in the ICB. SITA's main objectives are to support initiatives that contribute to the defragmentation of ATM in Europe, to contribute to 'better regulation' and not simply 'more regulation' through the streamlining of various regulatory bodies, and to focus attention on the need to implement the principle of regulatory/operational separation.

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Active support to DSNA France in CPDLC trial

During the first quarter of 2008, French ANSP DSNA conducted extensive CPDLC trials at its Reims ACC center under the auspices of its EVALINK programme.

Trials covered CPDLC using both FANS/ACARS and ATN/VDLm2 protocols. For the provision of FANS and ATN/VDLm2 air/ground data link services, DSNA selected SITA.SITA was well-positioned to provide invaluable support for these highly successful trials, thanks to its ATN routing service and network of ACARS and VDLm2 stations, which provide excellent coverage of the Reims ACC airspace. The majority of the airlines participating in the EVALINK trials were direct clients of SITA's air/ground data link services.

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Provision of FANS to Las Palmas ACC

AENA, the Spanish ANSP, has further extended its strategic partnership with SITA through a new contract covering the provision of an operational FANS service to Las Palmas ACC.

Las Palmas ACC plays a key role in controlling the oceanic airspace over and near the Canary Islands, which gives access to the South America-Europe air corridor. Aftersatisfying a certification process in line with the most recent European standards, AENA was able to commission CPDLC service in Las Palmas ACC using the SITA-provided FANS communication service.

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CANSO Extraordinary General Meeting

SITA was lead sponsor of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) EGM held in March 2008, which adopted a series of Executive Committee recommendations under the heading 'Imagine 2010'.

These recommendations should see CANSO take a major step forward towards its goal of becoming the single voice of ANSPs around the world, with a focus on safety, the
environment and business transformation.

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Latvia chooses SITA for D-ATIS and DCL

After a successful one-year trial, Latvian ANSP LGS selected SITA as its supplier of Pre-FANS communication services, supporting D-ATIS and DCL applications at Riga airport.

The contract has been awarded for five years, and ensures a level of service in line with the demanding requirements of ATC tower applications.

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Italy's SELEX selects SITA for FANS systems in Europe and Asia

Selex, a leading Italian manufacturer of ATM systems, has awarded a contract to SITA which will see Selex's FANS system tested and validated against SITA's test platform.
In its role as system integrator for the Malaysian ACC, Selex has also selected SITA to provide FANS communication service in Malaysia.

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