Stakeholders in the aviation domain have expressed their support for the Single European Sky Air traffic management Research Joint Undertaking (SESAR). During a conference organised in Tallinn on Wednesday 8 November, attended by EUROPE, they also reached a position in favour of promoting digitalisation in the sector.
The date and place of this event were significant because SESAR has recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union has an approach that is very much geared towards digitalisation.
The opening of the conference began with the retransmission of a video speech by the Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc. The latter described the SESAR programme as a “true success story” that has contributed to and will continue to contribute to “creative and innovative research”. 62 projects are now ready to be implemented. Ms Bulc also called for maximising, “the potential of digital aviation”, a vision shared by Kadri Simson, the Estonian Minister for the Economy and Infrastructure, for whom digitalisation is a key factor in the future of aviation.
During this event, public and private actors were keen to offer their support for the new SESAR air-traffic management master plan. This will be set up next year, so that stakeholders can work together and develop technological progress, whilst identifying European requirements in view of modernising and further digitalising European aviation infrastructure. Eamonn Brennan, chief executive of the Irish Aviation Authority and Director General of Eurocontrol highlighted the need to work together with SESAR and said that he would help implement the master plan.
Henrik Hololei, the director-general of the directorate general for mobility and transport services (DG MOVE) at the European Commission and President of SESAR’s Board of directors, explained that in this regard, the programme had “a decisive role to play” with regard to the technological pillar of the Single European Sky. He added that, “SESAR will therefore play a major part in identifying, developing and deploying the elements of the new digital ATM system”.
Following on from what Florain Guillermet, the Executive Director of SESAR, informed EUROPE the previous day and the joint declaration from the aviation industry (see EUROPE 11899), all stakeholders have expressed their wish to work together in a global approach to speed up the digitalisation of air traffic management and infrastructure. This is particularly to ensure that European aviation is capable of meeting economic and security challenges and international competition over the next few years.
Mr Guillermet therefore welcomed the fact that they had, “the support of the aviation stakeholder community at this critical point in our modernisation plans”. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)