Budapest 2.0: HungaroControl to Participate in an International Research & Development Programme

The results of the most recent technological developments are being tested in simulations and actual flights in the framework of the Budapest 2.0 project, organised by a large international collaboration. The programme, scheduled to last for two years, will demonstrate the arrival and departure procedures of the Budapest terminal approach airspace, the remote tower control solution and the extension of the solution that supports continuous descent approach in the Hungarian airspace. The project budget is nearly EUR 2.5 million, 50 percent of which is provided by the European Union’s Single European Sky (SES) programme through its SESAR Joint Undertaking tender.

In the framework of the Budapest 2.0 project, a six-member international consortium is setting up a demonstration environment for the purpose of testing and demonstrating the air navigation developments closely related to the SESAR research and development programme. The aim of the project is to present the technological innovations and procedures that specifically improve the operations of low- and medium-traffic airports, as they help to schedule aircraft arrivals more efficiently, to reduce the number of delayed flights, more economically operate planes and reduce the environmental impact.

The six-member consortium performing the demonstration started the joint work on the initiative of HungaroControl Hungarian Air Navigation Services and the Spanish Pildo Labs. Wizz Air Hungary Airlines Ltd., JetStream Légiforgalmi és Légiszolgáltató Kft, SLOT Consulting and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia are participating in the collaboration as members, while LPS, the air navigation service provider of Slovakia and Vueling airlines are contributing as supporting members, and Budapest Airport Zrt. as observer. Budapest 2.0 provides a demonstration environment to the international partners for the complex testing and demonstration of air navigation developments in the SESAR research and development programme.

Based on the benefits revealed during the simulations and actual flights performed in the course of the two-year programme, the development results related to the SESAR programme can be introduced more extensively to European air navigation control systems. In the course of the programme, which requires a high level of expertise and close cooperation, the experts will first test the arrival and departure procedures in the Budapest TMA, and then the design of the Remote Tower (rTWR) and an innovative air navigation tool, which was developed by HungaroControl and has already drawn the attention of several European air navigation service providers. The planned closing date of the programme is 31 December 2016.

“The approval of the Budapest 2.0 programme is an extremely important feedback for us: it shows that the hard work done in the past few years was successful, and certifies that HungaroControl is capable of a substantial contribution to improving the efficiency of European air navigation, and it is capable of creating genuine value for the users of the airspace, the passengers. It is also an important message for the future: HungaroControl has a place in the European research and development efforts, we need to continue our endeavours for innovation and must do everything in our power to maintain and increase the expertise and knowledge without which all this would not have been possible”, said Kornél Szepessy, CEO of HungaroControl.

The total budget of the Budapest 2.0 project exceeds EUR 2.4 million (approx. HUF 760 million), 50 percent of which are financed by the consortium members in proportion to their respective tasks in the demonstration, while the remaining amount is provided by the European Union in the framework of its SESAR Large Scale Demonstration tender. The Budapest-based SESAR demonstration environment will probably remain suitable for the testing and demonstration of the SESAR developments aimed at low- and medium-traffic airports and the ambient airspace.