International Civil Aviation Organization

World-wide CNS/ATM Systems

Implementation Conference

Rio de Janeiro, 11 – 15 May 1998

WW/IMP–WP/43

5/2/98

Item 2

Agenda Item 2:	Institutional issues

2.2	Co-operative and sub-regional approaches, including multinational air navigation facilities and services

INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF CNS/ATM IMPLEMENTATION

IN THE ICAO EUROPEAN REGION

(Presented by the Secretariat)

Action Paper

SUMMARY

This paper presents the EANPG's view on how institutional arrangements need to be changed to accommodate the implementation of the ICAO CNS/ATM systems. It makes recommendations that would facilitate the cost effectiveness of implementing the systems.

1.	Context and co-operative experience

1.1	The European Region is one of the largest and certainly one of the most complex of all ICAO planning regions. It is composed of 48 ICAO Contracting States as well as 3 Non-Contracting States and spans 12 time zones. It includes areas of high population densities as well as vast unpopulated areas. The level of economic development varies significantly throughout the Region and there are a notable variety of languages and cultures. The European Region has a large aeronautical manufacturing industry and spends significant amounts of money on aviation-related research and development.

1.2	The region includes States with very advanced institutional organisations and infrastructure as well as States which are in the process of developing their own institutions and infrastructure. Most States with advanced organisations and infrastructures are members of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) which has seen the number of member States increase since the serious congestion problems encountered in 1988. ECAC membership currently comprises 36 States. EUROCONTROL, which has expanded from 9 to 27 States in the same time frame, has been mandated by the ECAC Member States to manage the European Air Traffic Control Harmonisation and Integration Programme (EATCHIP) as set forth in the ECAC strategy for the 1990's. It should be noted that even within the area encompassed by the ECAC Member States, the level of sophistication and the amount of traffic vary significantly. Political changes have led to the establishment of a number of new States, in particular the States of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Most of these States have joined the Interstate Aviation Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IAC/CIS). The European Region could be briefly described as follows:

a)	the ECAC Member States which comprise a busy high-density core area and a less busy peripheral area in the Southern, Eastern and Northern parts;

b)	the States in the interface between Eastern ECAC Member States and the Eastern part of the ICAO European Region, including the Western part of the Russian Federation; and

c)	the remaining part of the Russian Federation plus the States of Middle Asia and the Trans Caucasus.

2.	Evolving CNS/ATM in the EUR Region

2.1	There is a need to plan for the expected doubling of traffic between now and the year 2015 whilst taking into consideration the legitimate requirements of all airspace users. Experience has shown that lead times for planning, developing and implementing new technologies are always long; therefore, it is imperative that plans be made now taking account of these time constraints.

2.2	When planning for these new technologies, the need to continue to improve safety levels in the light of ever increasing traffic is paramount. As an example, over the last 25 years, world total traffic has increased by 85% while the number of passenger fatalities per 100 million passenger-kilometres flown has decreased by 35%. Although the actual number of fatalities fluctuates from year to year, this continuous downward trend must continue despite the expected doubling of traffic in the European Region. This will require financial commitments to support a variety of initiatives related to safety, whether technological, procedural or regulatory.

2.3	Continued efforts must be put on improving the economy of operations; financial management must be based on sound planning methodologies that are market driven. Clearly, planning should be benefit driven and not technology driven and the following two issues must be taken into account:

A)	Flight operations

2.4	The new ICAO CNS/ATM systems must allow operators to fly near optimum routes and flight levels with less fuel burned and less time spent in the air and on the ground. The various areas of the European Region have their specific problems in regard to ATS route structure as well as en-route and airport capacity. To achieve the above mentioned objective for operators, each of the areas in the EUR Region, as described in paragraph 1.2 above, requires specific measures to answer the particular problems of that part of the region:

a)	the paramount problem for the ECAC Member States is the scarcity in capacity which can be remedied through continuously developing air traffic capacity in general and airport capacity in particular which will have an important impact on reducing delays and their effects on costs;

b)	the States in the interface between ECAC Member States and the Eastern part of the ICAO European Region reveal an inappropriate route structure which can be improved through optimal planning of airspace and infrastructure in order to allow for shorter routes and improved air traffic services; and

c)	the principle issue in regard to flight operations in the remaining Eastern part of the European Region is the incompleteness of the ATS route structure which is inconsistent with the requirements of the international operators and lacks the required flexibility. The ICAO CNS/ATM systems' objectives can be achieved through an increased flexibility in the airspace structures to solve shortcomings or deficiencies. This would spread the traffic over an increased number of routes thus alleviating capacity problems. Radar coverage or automatic dependent surveillance (ADS) in the Far East part of Russia would also have a positive effect on traffic flows.

B)	Cost effectiveness of service providers

2.5	Maximum use of existing technology, where available, should be explored before undertaking major changes. However, investments in either existing or new technologies should be made on the basis of business cases and regionally co-ordinated strategies. The air navigation system should be kept under continuous review to ensure that the required level of performance is being achieved. Providers of ATS are increasingly becoming economically independent of national governments and are being operated more on the basis of corporate business principles. This leads to a transparency of air navigation service charges and a more direct relationship between cost and service levels to the user. It is important to keep charges to the user as low as possible whilst producing a rate of return for the provider to fund the necessary investments. The emphasis is increasingly on consultation between ATS providers and users prior to significant investments to ensure that user requirements will be met in a cost-effective way. These investment decisions should be supported by business cases including life cycle cost benefit analysis of the proposals, taking account of both user and provider perspectives. In establishing new CNS/ATM requirements, it is important not to over-specify (ground and airborne) equipment needs that surpass the real operational needs. Emphasis should be put on increasing ATC capacity by developing new procedures thus enabling the increase in the air traffic controllers' capacity.

2.6	The question of the environment is of strategic importance to air traffic operations and there is a need to take account of environmental issues when planning future air navigation systems. The effects of traffic growth on the environment need to be taken fully into account. In particular, more efficient routes will reduce flying time with the concomitant effect on exhaust gas emissions. In addition, more efficient routings and approach procedures in the vicinity of aerodromes will allow planners to ensure that effects of noise on local populations will be minimised.

2.7	CNS/ATM implementation has already begun in parts of the EUR Region. Examples of significant changes that have been agreed to and are in the process of being implemented are area navigation (RNAV(RNP5) - 1998) which, together with the introduction of the flexible use of airspace (civil/military co- ordination), will greatly facilitate the optimisation of the ATS route network. Another major change is the implementation of reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) between flight level 290 and flight level 410 (RVSM - 2000). Both of these measures will significantly increase en-route capacity. Some States have already begun upgrading flight data processing systems (FDPS) so as to be able to make use of modern data link capabilities. This has reduced ATC workload and therefore increased overall system capacity. In conjunction with the above, real time testing and evaluation of the aeronautical telecommunications network (ATN) and advanced data link applications such as automatic dependent surveillance (ADS) and controller pilot data link communications (CPDLC) is being carried out. For the high-density areas, the use of Mode S and its data linking capability is also being tested. Another important area of activity is the use of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). In particular, the use of the global positioning system (GPS), of the global orbiting navigation satellite system (GLONASS) and of methods of augmentation are being actively pursued. This will allow for the rationalisation of ground based navigation aids, used for both the en-route and arrival/departure phases of flight, on the basis of well established strategies and transition plans.

2.8	The European Commission, EUROCONTROL and the European Space Agency are joint partners as the European Tripartite Group (ETG), a venture to provide augmentation to GPS and GLONASS to meet the requirements of civil aviation. The European contribution to worldwide augmentation is known as the european geostationary navigation satellite overlay system (EGNOS) and will be complementary, compatible and similar to cognate services being implemented by the United States and Japan. The ETG members are also addressing the following associated issues:

a)	joint certification;

b)	financing;

c)	cost recovery;

d)	liability;

e)	central management;

f)	safety regulation; and

g)	institutional implications.

2.9	The need for a European GNSS Agency to co-ordinate the above issues for the European Region is currently being given close consideration.

3.	Key implementation issues

3.1	There is a requirement to ensure that political decision-makers are made aware of some of the obstacles to efficient planning concerning the optimum use of the available airspace, which is an important resource for all airspace users. Its optimum exploitation has to be striven for continuously in order to match capacity to overall air traffic demand. By this, safety, fluidity and economy have to be ensured as well as special purpose use. As diverse as the users are, from scheduled airline traffic to ad hoc flights of general aviation on the civil side and from military transport flights carried out in accordance with ICAO rules, regulations and procedures to operational air traffic and fighter training on the military side, as many are their requirements.

3.2	In modern ATM planning and implementation processes the answer to this very broad challenge cannot be an inflexible fragmentation of the airspace as a limited resource into special use volumes. The prevailing principle must clearly be "ONE SKY FOR EUROPE". There is a continuing requirement and growing need for the future ATM system to accommodate the coexistence of all aircraft operations, and this does include military aircraft operations as a matter of course. The interoperability of military and civil systems to support the timely exchange of data is an important factor in defining future operational procedures and technical solutions. The airspace should be regarded as a continuum under a collaborative joint civil-military airspace planning system. Release of special use airspace for common use when it is not needed for the special use operations is another factor for more efficient management of airspace for its optimum use.

3.3	The performance of the ATM system has to be assessed against its ability to cater for all requirements, the diversity of civil as well as of military requirements. However, in order to enable the ATM system to reach its required maximum performance, all system users — civil and military — should accept a commitment with regard to avionics equipage of the aircraft beyond a moral obligation only. Since there is only one worldwide applicable ATM system with worldwide agreed set of standards, procedures and rules under the only worldwide international organisation taking care of the set, (ICAO), military authorities are urgently invited to make maximum effort in order to meet all obligations and to consider their aircraft fleet as if operating a (civil) airline with all its obligations when participating in these structures and operating in the ATM system. This is essential for the safety and efficiency of the whole ATM system of the world and is beneficial for all air traffic participants.

3.4	The necessary political will needs to be generated to address difficult issues such as socio-
economic matters related to the de-commissioning of outdated systems, the out-sourcing of service provision, as well as the implementation of multi-national facilities. This should be done on a planned basis with the aim to avoid parallel operations of unnecessary redundant systems.

3.5	Institutional and legal issues will have to be addressed and overcome if implementation of CNS/ATM systems is to be successful. In this context, efforts will be required by States to pool resources in order to enhance capacity and flexibility in the provision of services in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. Several examples of such co-operation and pooling of resources already exist or are planned for the EUR Region. The establishment of the EUROCONTROL Upper Area Control Centre in Maastricht, which provides air traffic services in the airspace of several countries, is a good example. Other initiatives are currently under way such as the Central European Air Traffic Services (CEATS) Project, which would re-group the upper airspace of eight States into one ATS facility. Studies are being carried out to determine if the foregoing principles could be applied in other parts of the EUR Region. In addition, consideration will be given to the use of facilities in one State by another State as well as the joint use of facilities. As existing technology is fully capable to facilitate such common use of ATS facilities, emphasis should be given to the need to develop political will at the highest levels of State governments.

3.6	Plans must ensure that adequate numbers of trained personnel are available. Language skills are of the utmost importance. Common training, with a global outlook is necessary to support seamless inter- regional and intra-regional operations. As an example, the results of a survey carried out by the EUROCONTROL Institute of Air Navigation Services amongst the member States of EUROCONTROL has shown that the training demand for the Institute for the period 1998-2000 would include some 16,500 course participants of which 60% would be for familiarisation training and 40 % for specialist training. Also, the survey showed the necessity to provide further training in CNS/ATM for all categories of staff working in ATM (operational, technical, management). This survey, which does not include the requirements for simulations, gives an idea of the importance of training and of the cost it will incur if the new ICAO CNS/ATM systems are to be successfully implemented.

4.	Financing

4.1	Financial management must be based on sound planning methodologies and be transparent to the constituents. It should take account of the need to estimate growth, determine user and provider requirements, estimate the cost of changes, develop financing options, determine who underwrites the risk and ensure that an appropriate and fair internationally agreed cost recovery mechanism is put in place for national and multi- national air navigation systems. As well, it has to take into account that other transport modes benefit greatly from system components such as GNSS. In this context, users have confirmed on several occasions their willingness to pay for added value, as long as this strictly follows Article 15 of the Chicago Convention, ICAO Assembly Resolutions and other ICAO provisions.

4.2	There are large parts of Europe, in terms of geographical extent, for which significant operational benefits could be obtained with relatively small well managed investments. This could be achieved by applying the methods mentioned under key implementation issues above.

4.3	The EUROCONTROL Central Route Charges Office (CRCO) operates a multinational en-route charges billing and collection scheme on behalf of 27 EUROCONTROL Member States. It also bills and collects airport terminal charges for several of these States. In addition, the CRCO has concluded bilateral agreements with 5 non-member States for the recovery of air navigation (i.e. en-route and terminal) charges. The annual amount of charges collected is approximately USD 4 billion. More than 99% of the charges billed are collected; the CRCO's collection costs are about 0.5% of amounts billed. The system operated by the CRCO is based on ICAO principles and therefore constitutes a fair, equitable, efficient and cost-effective cost recovery mechanism. User representative organisations are systematically consulted on developments of the system. The system is designed to recover all CNS/ATM costs incurred by the participating States. GNSS costs will be included in the recovery scheme in accordance with ICAO Air Navigation Services Economics Panel (ANSEP) recommendations.

5.	Conclusion

5.1	The above solutions will certainly help alleviate some of the penalties that aviation is paying because of airport and airspace congestion and, in some instances, the lack of sufficient flexibility when planning system modifications. A new and modern approach to air navigation planning is required. It will be necessary to re-think the way civil aviation planning and financing is carried out if we are to achieve the benefits of implementing the CNS/ATM systems. Not only will national requirements need to be taken into account, but those of neighbours as well. This is one of the major challenges to successfully implementing CNS/ATM, anywhere in the world. The community of 27 EUROCONTROL States have already initiated the required process by amending the EUROCONTROL Convention accordingly.

Recommendation 2/X	–	The need for States to select appropriate communications navigation surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems that are compatible with adjacent areas

That States, in planning new air navigation infrastructure, select systems which are appropriate to the specific requirements for CNS/ATM in the area of application and are co-ordinated with system application in adjacent areas.

Recommendation 2/X	–	The need to adopt planning methodologies that are cost beneficial

That States adopt new planning methodologies that will ensure cost beneficial air navigation services by:

a)	planning airspace structures on the basis of operational and technical requirements and cost effectiveness instead of sovereignty;

b)	applying sound and transparent financial management techniques when considering changes to the air navigation infrastructure;

c)	sharing costs by providing services in a co-operative manner (delegation of services, sharing of data, common training institutions, co-operative research and development projects);

d)	ensuring access to all airspace whilst taking account of the requirements of all legitimate airspace users on the understanding that all airspace users inversely adhere to their necessary obligations; and

e)	establishing optimal institutional arrangements aimed at decreasing the infrastructure costs and increasing the total effectiveness and safety of the communications navigation surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems.

Recommendation 2/X	–	The need for financial institutions to invest in communications navigation surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems

That financing institutions be encouraged to finance and invest in the implementation of CNS/ATM systems in view of the significant benefit to be achieved for both air navigation service providers and users as well as the (inter)national economy at large.

Recommendation 2/X	–	The need for ICAO to ensure that all necessary inter- and intra-regional communications navigation surveillance/air traffic management systems planning is carried out

That ICAO ensure that appropriate inter and intra-regional co-ordination, at all levels, be carried out in order to facilitate and expedite the implementation of a worldwide seamless CNS/ATM system.

6.	Action by the conference

6.1	The conference is invited to endorse the recommendations in paragraph 5 above.

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