329 Million Euro co-funding for modernising European Air Traffic Management

The European Commission (EC) has granted 329 million euro in co-funding to Air Traffic Management (ATM) projects around Europe as a result of the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Transport Call 2014. The industry will now benefit from an unprecedented financial funding boost of a total public-private investment of around 650 million euro to implement the first projects contributing to the modernisation of ATM.

“We are proud that the European Commission has invested 329 million euro into the modernisation of ATM,” said Massimo Garbini, Managing Director of SESAR Deployment Manager. “This financial support is crucial to kick-start the industry investment needed for the modernisation of ATM. We are here to support the industry and to coordinate all funded implementation projects.”

From now on SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM) will coordinate and monitor the realisation of all selected implementation projects. Once the EC has awarded the projects, all stakeholders will become implementing partners and join the SESAR Deployment Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) to receive the awarded co-funding of 329 million euro through SDM. This is the legal mechanism through which the Pilot Common Project (PCP) will be turned from a regulation for European Member States into binding contracts for European operational stakeholders.

Two weeks ago the Deployment Programme (DP) Version One was delivered to the EC, explaining how ATM technology in Europe can be modernised within the PCP (a European law covering six ATM functionalities that have to be implemented by European Union Member States). The programme not only forms the basis for the next INEA CEF Transport Call for proposals in 2015, but already includes the ATM projects awarded in the INEA CEF Transport Call 2014. This programme will lead the investment plans by European Air Navigation Service Providers, Airports, Airlines and Military and will provide Europe with a modern infrastructure, which guarantees the development of a safe and efficient continental air transport system in support of the European economy and the creation of jobs.