On June 6, 2023, within the framework of the Green Week (01-06.06.2023), BULATSA organizes an eco-initiative “Day without a car – TOGETHER for cleaner air”.
Employees are encouraged to voluntarily join the initiative and demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection by using alternative transportation or carpooling to and from work on this day.
Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority (BULATSA) notifies aircraft operators and users of the Bulgarian airspace regarding the publication of Aeronautical chart 1:500 000, edition 10.0. The chart is available free of charge only in electronic form on the corporate website of BULATSA: Services/Airspace management /Aeronautical chart 1:500 000.
The chart is also available on the flight information portal of Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority (BULATSA) – https://b-flip.bulatsa.com/.
Changes in edition 10.0:
On Wednesday, 10th and Thursday, 11th May 2023, the DANUBE FAB Governing Bodies met in Sofia for their twentieth meeting, marking the continuous efforts of Bulgaria and Romania to shape the strategic direction and priorities for the FAB and to progress further their cooperation with key projects for the benefit of safe and efficient provision of ANS.
The DANUBE FAB ANSP Board approved the FAB Strategic Programme 2023-2027, Annual Plan 2023 and Annual Report 2022 documents and presented them for approval by the Governing Council.
The Board members were updated on projects that have recently been completed and significantly progressed within the FAB. The most notable was the continued expansion of South East Europe Free Route Airspace (SEE FRA) with the inclusion of FRACZECH in February 2023.
The ANSP Board agreed to have the next DANUBE FAB Social Consultation Forum in the autumn of 2023 in Bulgaria.
The 20th Governing Council meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministries of Transport, Civil and Military Aviation Authorities, National Supervisory Authorities and ANSPs from both States. In accordance with DANUBE FAB Observer Policy, representatives from Republic of Moldova were also welcomed.
The Council representatives focused on the on-going high priority projects: Free Route Airspace and InterFAB Cooperation. Members also approved the FAB strategic documents, Strategic Programme 2023-2027, Annual Report 2022 and the Annual Plan 2023.
Regarding the recent EU developments, specific updates and discussions took place such as the accession of BULATSA and ROMATSA to the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking, their joint participation in the Digital European Sky Industrial Research Call for proposals, the new SESAR Deployment Manager Partnership and possible ways to find common grounds for a future collaboration.
As DANUBE FAB is following closely the potential impact of the reform of the SES legislative framework on ATM in the region as well as on FABs in general, the members of the Council reiterated the importance of the SES reform to enable the response to current challenges.
The next round of DANUBE FAB Governing Bodies meetings are planned for the autumn of 2023 in Romania.
BULATSA has started training air traffic controllers (ATCOs) of ARMATS – the air navigation service provider of Armenia. They will attend a one-week course, based on the standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as well as on topics according to European Union regulations.
At the beginning of the year an ARMATS delegation visited BULATSA at the invitation of the Director General Mr. Georgi Peev. In response to the interest on part of the ARMATS management, a training program was developed and approved by the Armenian authorities and DG CAA.
The Bulgarian ATCOs will train their Armenian colleagues on how to cope with emergency and extraordinary situations on a simulator. Those who succeed to meet the training criteria will receive a certificate compliant with the EU legal framework.
The Armenian air traffic controllers will also participate in a one-week course to improve their English language proficiency.
Air traffic controllers from North Macedonia and Georgia have also been trained at BULATSA. With the development of BULATSA’s simulator, other foreign trainings and simulations are expected to take place.
Dear colleagues, Happy World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day!
BULATSA joins the global initiative “Earth Hour” and on March 25 will turn off the facade lighting of the buildings at the Unified Air Traffic Control Centre in Sofia and at the Airport Centres between 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM. “Earth Hour” is the largest initiative dedicated to the preservation of our common home – planet Earth. It is held annually to raise awareness of the importance of taking action to preserve the Earth. Traditionally, on the last Saturday of March, between 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM, millions of people are set to switch off their lights for 60 minutes in a symbolic movement to save the planet. Landmarks around the world also turn off their lights, thus expressing solidarity with the fight against climate change.
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the World Meteorological Organization. BULATSA meteorologists are the people who observe, analyze and forecast the dangerous meteorological phenomena, thus ensuring the right decision-making in air traffic management. They are among the leaders of the professional community and their work is highly appreciated in the European aviation sector.
In an analysis published in Airlines, Rory Sergison, IATA’s Head of ATM Infrastructure Europe, said that there are myriad challenges facing European airspace in the coming peak summer months.
“We can’t predict what will happen or how our service partners, such as airports and air navigation service providers (ANSPs), will cope and that makes it impossible for airlines to plan,” he says.
The analysis shows that as a result of the closure of the Russian, Ukrainian and Moldovan airspaces, traffic will continue to be pushed south, overloading the south-eastern European corridor to/from Turkey and Greece which will be already thick with tourist traffic to popular vacation destinations.
The progressive reopening of Asian markets will exacerbate the problem. In addition to all of this is a strong traffic growth in Central Europe and South-eastern Europe, the latter having already surpassed 2019 levels in summer 2022.
“Solutions are not easy to come by,” Sergison says. “There are good ANSPs in Europe. Bulgaria, Romania, and Spain, for example, are handling traffic above their capacity, but are still delivering an excellent service.” According to Sergison, this is a proof that the problem could be solved, but that the overall system is falling short and most ANSPs need to show greater agility in their approach. “European skies were saturated in 2022 and we expect more traffic in 2023,” concludes Sergison. “It will be tough to avoid delays given the challenges the European system faces, but with a combination of procedural, technological, and rostering improvements, we could mitigate the worst of the problems. That will allow airlines to fly published schedules and provide the end consumer with the service required.”
The 4D Skyways project, in which BULATSA is one of the main participants, was awarded the “Best Industrial Research Project 2023″ at the SESAR ceremony for Digital European Sky Awards, within the framework of the World ATM Congress “Airspace World” in Geneva.
Project PJ18-W2 4D Skyways researches and develops conflict detection and resolution tools using aircraft trajectory data and the associated CPDLC clearances to support the introduction of Trajectory Based Operations (TBO). 4D Skyways boasts a total of 21 validation exercises, including real-time simulations on ANSP and industry testbeds. The project consortium consists of 31 partners – Eurocontrol, airspace users, representatives of the aviation industry, ANSPs, etc.
At 4D Skyways, BULATSA, together with Airbus Defense&Space, researches, develops and tests the capabilities of the conflict detection and resolution system TESLA (Tactical Encounter Solver Assistant).
Project PJ.18 4D Skyways – Improving Trajectory Management for European Air Transport, is developed under SESAR 2020 Wave 2 programme. BULATSA has been actively working on TBO projects even from 2016 from the first wave of the programme. This project is a product of extraordinary dedication of professionals engaged in various disciplines. Thus, 4D Skyways manages to develop solutions for a wide range of functionalities and achieve effective proposals for the modernization of European aviation.
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SESAR 2020 is an EU programme that focuses on the development and validation of technological solutions in the field of air traffic management. It is funded by the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
BULATSA participated in the world’s largest ATM forum Airspace World, related to air navigation services, which was held for its first time in Geneva between March, 8 and March, 10. Airspace World marks the beginning of a new platform of annual meetings between managers of Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) from all around the world, leading product developers, regulators, and specialized institutions.
The latest technological and product achievements of leading companies from the international industry in the field of ANS were presented at Airspace World, as well as innovations at different stages of technological maturity. Officials from the European Commission and EASA shared thoughts on the next steps to be taken in the EU legislation and the priorities in air transport.
During the event BULATSA representatives met different ANSPs – NATS (UK), ENAIRE (Spain), Austro Control (Austria), ROMATSA (Romania), etc., to discuss topics of mutual interest. Meetings with the directors of well-established technological partners of BULATSA, such as LEONARDO, INDRA, THALES, etc. were also held.
The world congress Airspace World is an effective form of communication with different partner organizations aiming to shape regional and European policies and projects. Annually held, Airspace World reflects the feedback and vision of operational experts and end users of new technological solutions.
