Workshop illustrates value of SESAR demonstrations for ATM modernisation

SESAR Demonstrations are providing concrete and tangible evidence of the benefits offered by SESAR solutions to increase the performance of air traffic management (ATM) and aviation in Europe. This was the conclusion of a workshop, which took place on 28-29 October in Toulouse.

Organised by the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) and kindly hosted by Airbus, the workshop brought together over 50 participants to discuss the results of ongoing SESAR demonstrations, as well as to reveal the projected plans from a selection of recently-launched larger scale demonstrations.

Representing a wide range of ATM stakeholders from across Europe and beyond, participants illustrated through their presentations how demonstrations are addressing all parts of the ATM value chain, from high performing airport operations, optimised ATM network services, advanced Air Traffic Services all enabled by a state of the art aviation infrastructure.

Pierre Bachelier expressed that Airbus was very pleased to host the 2014 SESAR demonstrations workshop in Toulouse, and added that these “demonstration projects represent an important step towards the deployment of SESAR solutions, paving the way for the deployment of enhanced Trajectory Based Operations such i4D.”

A total of 30,000 flight trials have been conducted to date, with a number of demonstrations delivering quick wins by proving the operational readiness of some solutions for implementation. In addition, demonstrations are serving to act as a bridge between development and deployment, helping to reduce the time to market and readiness for industrialisation both in Europe and worldwide. Mindful of the need for global ATM interoperability, demonstrations offer the ideal large scale operational environment with which to ensure that SESAR solutions are globally applicable and interoperable.

Speaking about the quality of results presented at the workshop, Alain Siebert, Chief Economist and Master Planning, said: “This has been an excellent opportunity to see first-hand that SESAR demonstrations are delivering evidence that SESAR solutions not only work on paper, but also in day-to-day operations, paving the way for wide scale implementation in Europe and the world.” - See more at: http://www.sesarju.eu/newsroom/all-news/workshop-sesar-demonstration#sthash.OEhl8C85.dpuf