ETSI announces its first Community Specification for European Air Traffic Management

July 6, 2010 - PRLog -- ETSI's newly-published European Standard for Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) has been declared a European “Community Specification” as a consequence of being listed in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) on 26 June. It is the first standard from a European Standards Organisation to be listed as a Community Specification and provides essential requirements in support of the Single European Sky Interoperability Regulation for Air Traffic Management.

This specification (EN 303 212), one of a series being developed in support of the European Union initiative to enhance the capacity and safety of European airspace, was published by ETSI on 1 June. It is a significant first step towards achieving the goals of the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) initiative: a 3-fold increase in capacity with a safety performance improvement by a factor of 10, a 10% reduction in environmental impact and a 50% reduction in costs.

The A-CDM concept enables airlines, ground handlers, air navigation service providers and airports to work together efficiently to share data, thereby providing all the involved airport partners with the same view of airport operations. All concerned with airport operations are therefore in a position to make accurate, timely and consistent decisions.
Under the terms of the European Commission's Interoperability Regulation 552/2004 (amended by Regulation 1070/2009) for the Single European Sky, systems, procedures and constituents which meet this Community Specification are presumed to be compliant with the essential requirements of the regulation and the relevant implementing rules. The publication of this European Standard, and its reference in the OJEU as a Community Specification, will therefore facilitate the deployment of the A-CDM concept in Europe's airports.

The Single European Sky legislation was adopted in 2004. It is based on a framework of four regulations, the Interoperability Regulation being one of them. The objective of the regulation is to ensure interoperability of the European Air Traffic Management Network (EATMN), consistent with air navigation services.

ETSI is preparing other Community Specifications for use under the Interoperability Regulation. These will include standards for the Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS, to assure the safe movement of vehicles and aircraft on the ground at airports) and Data Link Services (DLS). Other work under the umbrella of the European Air Traffic Management Master Plan is scheduled to begin later this year.

About Single European Sky

The Single European Sky (SES) is an initiative launched by the European Commission to reform the architecture of European air traffic control to meet future capacity and safety needs, organizing airspace and air navigation at a European rather than at a local level. The initiative is based on a harmonized regulatory framework, in which the technical regulation is based on essential requirements, rules and standards that are complementary and consistent. Great emphasis is placed on interoperability.

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About ETSI

ETSI produces globally-applicable standards for Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), including fixed, mobile, radio, converged, aeronautical, broadcast and internet technologies and is officially recognized by the European Commission as a European Standards Organization. ETSI is an independent, not-for-profit association whose 740 member companies and organizations, drawn from 62 countries across 5 continents worldwide, determine its work programme and participate directly in its work.
For more information please visit: www.etsi.org