COOPANS Alliance further to grow - NAV Portugal on track to become sixth member

On March 14 in Lisbon, final documents were signed to put Portuguese Air Navigation Service Provider NAV Portugal on track to become the sixth member of the COOPANS Alliance.
COOPANS (Cooperation between Air Navigation Service Providers) is an international partnership between the air navigation service providers of Austria (Austro Control), Croatia (Croatia Control), Denmark (Naviair), Ireland (Irish Aviation Authority) and Sweden (LFV) with the purpose of operating and developing a common air traffic management system.

NAV Portugal will assume the role of “ATM Member Candidate” for a period of six months, after which the formal membership process will be completed. For NAV Portugal this step not only represents a decision for a new ATM system, but was primarily determined by a strategical point of view.

“The strategic decision to join the COOPANS Alliance was to provide NAV Portugal with a better position to address the technological and procedural challenges posed to Air Navigation Service Providers by the Single European Sky Directives, requirements and definitions, as well as to address to the strong and unforeseen increase in traffic registered in recent years in the Lisbon Flight Information Region (FIR). We strongly believe, that becoming a member of the COOPANS Alliance will have a very positive technological, operational and economic impact on NAV Portugal”, says Jorge Ponce Leão, President of NAV Portugal.

“We are very proud and honoured, that NAV Portugal has chosen to become a member of COOPANS. Our alliance has become sort of a role model in European aviation and we have received a lot of appreciation from the airlines, from other ANSPs but also from the European Commission. Our goal has always been to grow and strengthen the alliance. I believe with NAV Portugal we have found the perfect partner to do so and I am looking forward to many years of fruitful cooperation”, says Thomas Hoffmann COO of Austro Control and Chairman of the COOPANS Alliance Board.

The COOPANS Alliance stands as the leading example in Europe of an industrial partnership with cooperation between multiple ANSPs and a good working relationship with its ATM system supplier. The COOPANS Alliance has now implemented the same software version at seven ACCs, across five ANSPs. This approach minimises costs to its customers by keeping system costs down, resulting in savings of about 30 % compared with a standalone model.

COOPANS is in line with the requirements of Single European Sky and helps drive forward the harmonisation of European ATM systems.


Jorge Ponce Leão, President of NAV Portugal and Thomas Hoffmann COO of Austro Control and Chairman of the COOPANS Alliance Board at the signing ceremony on March 14 in Lisbon