NEXTGEN and SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) The Future of Air Traffic Management

NEXTGEN and SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) The Future of Air Traffic Management Dr. William B. Coyne Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900 William B. Coyne: coynea7e@erau.edu ABSTRACT This paper looks at the future of air traffic management. The system that is being used today is old and essentially worn out. Globally, the number of air passengers is growing and in turn the air traffic is increasing. The effects of the increases are delays and inefficient methods of handling the increased air traffic. Two programs in progress to advance technology in the cockpit and on the ground are NextGen (Next Generation Air Transportation System) and SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research). The basics of these programs are a paradigm shift from using ground-based radar systems to a satellite based system. The information in this paper looks at the two systems and the components that are planned to advance technological improvements, improve safety, and reduce delays and costs in the global airspace system. Keywords: Air traffic management, SESAR, NextGen, National airspace system, and air traffic controller Introduction The air traffic control system being used today was initially developed after World War I and over time was expanded to provide start-up routes and basic navigation facilities for the U.S. Postal Service and the military. Today, the technology inherent in the system reflects dramatic changes to support the National Airspace System. After World War II, there was an infusion of new technologies in radar, communications, and aircraft that was essential to take advantage of an expanding economy and a mobile population. Pioneer air traffic controllers used maps, blackboards, and mental calculations to safely separate aircraft [1]. The primary purpose of the ATC system is to prevent a collision between aircraft operating in the National Airspace System and to organize and expedite the flow of the traffic[2]. Seminal work by Biggs [3] indicate that the duty of an air traffic controller require them to be responsible for more lives than other experts in many occupations in the United States. The projected increases in air traffic world-wide will require changes that will affect all the aviation community. In the US, the system proposed to meet the challenges is the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), the FAA s plan to modernize the NAS through 2025. A primary focus of NextGen is to addresses the impact of air traffic growth. The programs that are part of NextGen will combat the increase in air traffic by increasing NAS capacity and efficiency while simultaneously improving safety, environmental impacts, and user access to the NAS. Without these improvements, the FAA predicts that by 2022, there will be gridlock in the skies at a cost of over $22 billion annually to the U.S. economy[4]. NextGen will dramatically affect both pilot and controller; the entire system will be converted from the current ground-based technologies to a robust satellite based technology.the European equivalent is the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) the name given to the collaborative project that is intended to completely overhaul the European airspace and it s Air Traffic Management (ATM). 126

What components make-up SESAR? SESAR-JU defines the new technology of the SES initiative into applications in six areas. These areas are: 4D trajectory management, traffic synchronization, network collaborative management and dynamic capacity building, system wide information management (SWIM), airport Integration and throughput, and conflict management and automation [5]. The 4D trajectory management is the shift from clearance based ATC to trajectory based ATC [6] through the use of Target Time Arrivals, allowing airlines to fly pre-agreed upon paths that are more efficient for the operator and de-conflicted with all other planned aircraft. This technology is to be implemented with advances in FMS technology, including the use of ADS-B and CPDLC systems in the affected airspaces. The goal of traffic synchronization is seen as being met, at least at first, by a uniform deployment of computerized Arrival Managers (AMAN). The purpose of electronic AMANs is to optimize runway capacity, manage the flow of aircraft entering the airspace, to provide predictability of operations, and minimize the impact of traffic on the environment [7]. The system is similar to the FAA s traffic management system, correlating data from the flight data processing system with data from the radar and factoring in aircraft flight models and weather. Network collaborative management and dynamic capacity building are being addressed by SESAR with an implementation of the Network Operations Plan (NOP) Portal. The NOP Portal has the benefit of giving the real time and future operations picture to ANSPs, allowing them to implement more efficient operations and work seamlessly with the other participants in the air traffic system.the NOP is updated taking into account the actual traffic situation and real time flow and capacity management [8].System wide information management (SWIM) is the system through which all of SESAR s new technologies are to be implemented. SWIM is seen as the intranet of the ATM system, allowing greater cooperation between service providers. SWIM will allow the sharing of data on traffic, flows, weather, and capacity. This sharing of data between all of the players in the system will also bring to fruition many of the other technologies that SESAR plans to implement, such as AMAN and NOP. EUROCONTROL says, in the Roadmap for Sustainable Air Traffic Management, SWIM consists of standards, infrastructure and governance, enabling the management of ATM information and its exchange between qualified parties via interoperable services[8]. The unique property of this system, when compared to ANSP s, such as the FAA in the U.S., is that SES s SWIM will cross sovereign borders, serving to create further efficiency in Europe s airspace. Airport Integration & Throughput in SESAR is seen as being enacted through the emplacement of the Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems (SMGCS). SMGCS consists of an airport surface surveillance system that provides ATC with the aircraft/vehicle position and identity, detects potential conflicts on runways and intrusions into restricted areas and provides controllers with the appropriate alerts [5]. Similar to the FAA s ASDE-X system, SMGCS uses both primary and secondary radar to allow for enhanced control during low visibility operations. These new capabilities will be used as part of a surface management (SMAN) model and integrated with the AMAN system. SMAN will occur by using collaborative decision making abilities brought on by the cooperation of service providers to bring about a better and more efficient use of the surface area and allow a greater flow of traffic from point-to-point. Finally, Conflict Management and Automation is being addressed by SESAR with the introduction of several tools to assist the controller in the separation of aircraft and the situation awareness of their airspace through the development and deployment of several new enhanced decision support tools and conflict detection/resolution capabilities. These decision support tools include medium term conflict detection (MTCD) with its ability to determine where a conflict exists on an aircraft s route through consideration of the filed flight plan and weather conditions [9]. Also included are monitoring aids (MONA), which are designed with the purpose of assisting the controller in the routine monitoring of the traffic situation, warning the controller when aircraft deviate from their planned route or clearances, reminding the controller of actions that need to be performed, and keeping the trajectories updated with the progress of the flights [10]. The final decision aid component is the system supported coordination (SYSCO). SYSCO allows controllers to communicate with one another within the control system. While it is internally used by most European ANSPs, 127

SES envisages its emplacement across the continent, allowing controllers from separate agencies to coordinate across borders and trade pertinent information. What is the make-up of NextGen? NextGen is the term for the ongoing transformation of the National Airspace System (NAS). As with SESAR, NextGen represents the evolution from a ground-based system of air traffic control to a satellite-based system of air traffic management. The proposed state-of-the-art technology will be new airport infrastructure and new air traffic procedures, including the greatest paradigm shift involving certain decision-making responsibility from the controller on the ground to the cockpit. The planned GPS technology will be used to shorten routes, save time and fuel, reduce traffic delays, increase capacity, and permit controllers to monitor and manage aircraft with greater safety margins [11]. Planes will be able to fly closer together, take more direct routes and avoid delays caused by airport stacking as planes wait for an open runway [12]. NextGen consists of four elements[4]: 1. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B). ADS-B will use Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite signals to provide air traffic controllers and pilots with more accurate information that will help separate aircraft. The FAA states the ADS-B is the future of air traffic control [4]. The air traffic controller and pilot will both benefit from this new technology as they will be able to see in real-timeother aircraft and their position. 2. SWIM or System Wide Information Management is a system that includes infrastructure and services that will provide access across NextGen network. SWIM will reduce the number of point-to-point interfaces and reduce redundancy that will allow multiple facilities to share in the same information. The decision making process for all stakeholders such as pilots, controllers, airlines will be more easily accessed, which in turn will improve air traffic controller productivity, enhancing capacity and safety. 3. Next Generation Network Enabled Weather (NNEW). The percentage of delays in the NAS is listed at seventy percent annually. The goal of this new weather technology is to reduce those weather occurrences by at least half. The addition of satellites information along with ground and airborne sources would be merged into one weather system which would be updated in real-time. The exciting aspect of this new technology is that the weather picture would be commonwithin the NAS. 4. NAS voice switch (NVS). Simply put, the voice switch systems in use today are extremely outdated. The current number is seventeen different voice switching systems across the NAS, and many of these have been in operation exceeding twenty years. The goal of NVS is to replace these outdated systems with a voice communications system for both air and ground usage. What are the philosophical differences between the two projects and how are they to be implemented? The philosophy associated with NEXTGEN is seen as a simple marshalling of resources and the political will to update an aging, but effective, air traffic control system whereas SESAR-JU is seen as a unification of multinational interests and private players on a continental stage. In A Blueprint for the Single European Sky, it is admitted that, with fewer air traffic controllers the FAA is able to deliver 70% more controlled flight hours than Europe [13].The philosophy of implementation with the SES concept as put forth by the European Commission 128

and EUROCONTROL includes a three phase plan to implement the advances of SESAR and make Europe s airspace comparable to the FAA s handling of the NAS. The three phases of the plan were definition, development, and deployment. The definition phase was indorsed in 2009. The purpose of this phase was to define the steps that needed to be taken in order to modernize the system, and how it all was going to be within guidelines set forth in the SESAR ATM Master Plan. In the master plan several goals were set to give the program a sense of direction. Those goals were: a 3-fold increase in capacity, in order to reduce delays (both on the ground and in the air), improve the safety performance by a factor of 10, a 10% reduction in pollution due to flight operations, and to provide ATM services at a cost to airspace users that is at least 50% lower than at present[5].the Development Phase (2008-2013) handles the development of the new equipment, systems or standards (ensuring convergence towards a fully interoperable ATM system in Europe), and preparations for the deployment phase. For its governance, SESAR-JU, the Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking, has been established, with a total budget of 2.1 billion euros. The main task of the Joint Undertaking is to manage the research, development and validation activities of the SESAR project by combining public and private sector funding provided by its members and using external technical resources such as EUROCONTROL. This phase of SESAR concludes at the end of 2013, culminating in the beginning of the deployment phase, most notably, with the requirement that all new commercial aircraft possess CPDLC to support the required datalink services. The infrastructure should be composed of fully harmonized and interoperable components which guarantee high performance air transport activities and efficient operations in the European airspace[14]. As of now, this last and longest of the phases is estimated to be the most costly, coming in with an approximate price tag of 20 billion euros, but all of this cost is to be assumed by the affected industries as a matter of compliance with the new rules enforced by the European Commission and EUROCONTROL. The NextGen philosophies for implementation are similar to SESAR. Incremental implementations are planned through the mid 2020 s as outlined in the NextGen Implementation Plan [15]. A method the FAA is using is called Metroplex. This is a fast-track effort to use satellite procedures and airspace changes that are meant to reduce fuel consumption and emissions around the metroplex areas that consists of several airports. Several areas that are planned for this are Washington, D.C, north Texas and Houston. Another feature of NextGen that is advancing is ADS-B. By the spring of 2013, approximately 500 ground stations were deployed and all aircraft are to be equipped by January 2020 with ADS-B [15]. What are the fiscal parameters of the project? What are the cost overruns, if any? The SESAR program is seen as costing a nearly 30 billion euros from start to finish. The vast majority of these costs are to be borne by private participants in the European airspace system (airliners, ANSPs, and airports). Since the European Union, or most of the member states for that matter, do not operate their ATM services or airports in the way that the United States does, the cost for system and equipment upgrades will lie with these companies, in the range of 20 27 billion euros, while the European Commission and EUROCONTROL, combined, assume about 3 billion euros of the cost, mostly due to research and development. The European Union member states have had to bail each other out of financial crises several times since the latest economic down turn, and coupled with austerity plans and a lack of financial incentives is a recipe for delay. According to a European Commission task force, a delay of as little as ten years could increase the costs of upgrade, from the current 30 billion, up to as much as 150 billion euros [16]. Overall, if the program is deployed as planned, there are no perceived cost overruns, but that can change very quickly as SESAR moves into its deployment phase. The FAA s estimate for NextGen is around $40 billion. A report by the Government Accounting Office states that if the highest levels of performance are to be obtained, and required equipage in all aircraft, the costs could easily balloon to $160 billion. To reduce costs, the GAO stated the FAA may have to develop the system with fewer capabilities on the ground and in the air. Another striking difference is that FAA has not established clear 129

and unambiguous goals and metrics [17] and several reports by the GAO has indicated the program may be in trouble. Conclusion The biggest issues for both programs are delays. Any delays will cause the program costs to skyrocket. This will affect all users of the system and ensure that politicians question every move. For the FAA, several reports have been very negative, basically calling into question the ability of the FAA to manage such a large undertaking [17]. Any major issues with SESAR, especially as it inevitably marches towards deployment can be summed up in one sentence, The problem is not of a technical nature; it is political [14]. Member states of the EU are seen as sometimes allowing local issues to block cooperation among each other, preventing a universal agreement to deploy technologies all at once. As has been seen since the inception of the European Union and Commission, local issues take great precedence over Pan-European problems, leading to an average delay of system implementation of seven years. Also at issue is the defragmentation of the airspace and reduction of the number of en route service providers from 27 to as little as five. Estimates range from five to ten years to achieve the goals of defragmentation, possibly extending the deployment phase past the desired finish date of 2020. Civilmilitary handling of airspace and national sovereignty is another issue that needs to be addressed through the implementation of the SES program[14]. Budget issues in the US continue to plague the program. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta stated that We are operating in a very challenging fiscal environment, the impact of which could continue into the future. The Budget Control Act of 2011, also known as sequestration, cut $637 million from the FAA budget this fiscal year and contains a provision for 10 years of across-the-board cuts in federal spending.[15] The plans for both SESAR and NextGen affect the entire world. Therefore, continued collaboration is absolutely essential to ensure the harmonization and interoperability as new technologies are introduced [15]. All of the stakeholders need to be involved as goals are set and attained. As indicated by the administrator and other leaders in the industry, the changes in infrastructure overall enhance the number priority of any system safety. Due diligence is necessary by all parties in this global improvement to ensure that funding is provided, plans are established that establish orderly transitions, and the project remain on schedule. References: [1] Nolan, M. S. (2004). Fundamentals of air traffic control. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole. [2] Federal Aviation Administration. (2012). FAA order 7110.65U, Air traffic control. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration: Washington, DC. [3] Biggs, D. (1979). Pressure cooker. New York: W. W. Norton. [4] Federal Aviation Administration. (February 14, 2007). Fact sheet NextGen. Retrieved from http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsid=8145 [5] EUROCONTROL, SESAR-JU. (2012). The roadmap for sustainable air traffic management: European atm master plan. Retrieved from Single European Sky Advanced Research Joint Undertaking website: www.atmmasterplan.eu [6] Enea, G., &Poretta, M. (2012). In M. L. Scott (Chair).A comparison of 4d-trajectory operations envisioned for nextgen and sesar, some preliminary findings. In Probst, A. (Eds.), ICAS 2012. Retrieved from http://www.icas.org/icas_archive/icas2012/index.html 130

[7] Hasovets, N., & Conroy, P. EUROCONTROL, (2010). Arrival manager: Implementation guidelines and lessons learned. Retrieved from EUROCONTROL website: http://www.eurocontrol.int/sites/default/files/content/documents/nm/fasti-aman-guidelines-2010.pdf [8]Network operations plan (nop) programme. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.eurocontrol.int/services/nop-programme [9] Morton, S. (2010a). Eurocontrol specification for medium-term conflict detection. Brussels: EUROCONTROL. Retrieved from http://www.eurocontrol.int/sites/default/files/content/documents/singlesky/specifications/20100715-mtcd-spec-v1.0.pdf [10] Morton, S. (2010b). Single European Sky Implementation, Network Development. Eurocontrol specification for monitoring aids. Retrieved from EUROCONTROL website: http://www.eurocontrol.int/documents/monitoring-aids-specification [11] Impacts of the Light Squared Network on Federal Science Activities. (September 8, 2011). Testimony of The Honorable Peter H. Appel, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology. [12] NextGen. (2013, January).Kings Wings.Retrieved from http://www.king1b9.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/12/news-letter-jan-20131.pdf. [13] International Air Transport Association, Press Department. (2011). A blueprint for the single european sky: Delivering on safety, environment, capacity and cost-effectiveness. Retrieved from International Air Transport Association website: http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/documents/blueprint-single-european-sky.pdf [14] EUROCONTROL, Experimental Centre. (2009).Challenges of air transport 2030: Survey of experts' views (09/07/15-20). Retrieved from EUROCONTROL website: www.eurocontrol.int [15] Federal Aviation Administration. (2013). NextGen implementation plan. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration: Washington, DC. [16] Learmount, D. (2011, August 11). Sesar names the price of single european sky. Retrieved from http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/sesar-names-the-price-of-single-european-sky-360629/ [17] Hoover, J. N. (2010 December). FAA NextGen air traffic control costs could quadruple. Information Week, Government. Retrieved from http://www.informationweek.com/government/enterprise-applications/faanextgen-air-traffic-control-costs-co/228500257 131