ICAO, skyguide and DFS discuss ATM trends at FREQUENTIS COMSOFT’s 11th aeronautical user group in Germany

Under the theme “The Future of Aeronautical Data Communication”, this year’s CAUG addressed a diverse agenda of topics reporting on the trends and future developments in air traffic services, including SWIM, security and message handling.

CAUG has always been a place for lively discussion about the potential impact of emerging topics.  This year’s event also looked at the management of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and its integration into Air Traffic Management (ATM) with Frequentis partner, Altitude Angel.

Presentations given by CAUG members from skyguide and Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) were a highlight on the agenda.  These respected Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) shared a wide range of perspectives regarding SWIM integration and implementation as well as security.  This showed the wide ranging of implications SWIM will have on the way information is shared across different organisations within the ANSP landscape and across all ATM stakeholders.  This also opens the door for the need for enhanced security focus to ensure that data is only shared as it is intended to be.

A representative from ICAO headquarters in Montréal, Canada, provided an update on Information Management and implementation guidelines, including planned updates and enhancements to ICAO Doc 10039, as well as information on SWIM-related initiatives, including the transition from AFTN/AMHS and mixed mode, and an update on ICAO cyber security activities.  These updates also reinforced the prominence of the SWIM and security topics within the aviation industry.

Highlighting the CAUG’s commitment to focusing on the newest trends in ATM, Richard Parker from Frequentis partner Altitude Angel presented the latest developments in the management of UAVs and its integration with the traditional ATM, including a demonstration of the UTM/ATM platform.

Day-one of the two-day event provided a range of views on SWIM, starting with global and high-level aspects, followed by regional and national perspectives, and closed with implementation features. Day-two allowed room to discuss security, AMHS, and drone topics.  The 44 CAUG members from 23 global organisations left the event with valuable options to help them as they plan for their future information management solutions.