The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Mr. Rossen Jeliazkov, and the Mayor of Burgas, Mr. Dimitar Nikolov, visited today the tower of BULATSA in Burgas, where they were acquainted with the operational process. The air traffic controllers are especially busy during the summer season when the air traffic is greatly increased. Over 200 flights have been serviced by the Air Traffic Control Centre in Burgas for the last 24 hours alone. The tower in the seaside city works in full coordination with the centres in Sofia and Varna, and until now there are no delays due to the Bulgarian air traffic controllers.
Then the two spoke with the management and personnel of the Airport Air Traffic Control Centre, where real-time air traffic management was demonstrated at the height of the summer season.
Mr. Georgi PEEV, BULATSA Director General, took part in a series of high-level events on 3rd and 4th June 2019 in Bucharest, Romania.
On the 3rd of June 2019 CEOs of 13 ANSPs, members of the Gate One Coordination Platform, convened in Bucharest for the eighth time to discuss the most pressing topics of European ATM. They agreed on common positions on the Airspace Architecture Study and the Report of Wise Persons Group. Both documents will play a crucial role in shaping the future Single European Sky legislation package to be proposed by the European Commission.
Afternoon part of the meeting was devoted to panel discussion with prominent guests representing key actors of European ATM – Ms. Regula DETTLING-OTT, Chairperson of the Performance Review Body of the Single European Sky, Mr. Razvan BUCUROIU, Head of Network Strategy and Development Division at the Network Manager, and Ms. Tanja GROBOTEK, Director of European Affairs at CANSO. Discussions focused on the future of European ATM, changes necessary to enable further development of the sector and their impact on the existing regulatory framework. SESAR, Delivering the Future of Aviation Together conference was organized on 4 June by SDM, CANSO and ROMATSA in the framework of the Romanian presidency in the Council of the European Union. BULATSA management representatives debated on how aviation stakeholders can work together to accommodate future growth in air traffic and the capacity crunch alongside with senior representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, SESAR Deployment Manager, SESAR Joint Undertaking, PANSA, ROMATSA, CANSO, airports, EDA and the Network Manager.
Thirteenth Meeting of the DANUBE FAB ANSP Board
The management of BULATSA and ROMATSA met in Bucharest on the 27th May for the thirteenth meeting of the DANUBE FAB ANSP Board. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Georgi PEEV, Director General BULATSA, and Mr. Mircea Bostina, Director General ROMATSA.
The ANSP Board members were informed of the progress of DANUBE FAB strategic planning and reporting, status of the FAB procurements, Inter-FAB coordination activities and the progress of the FAB High Priority projects, focusing on the immediate actions to be taken in order to ensure that DANUBE FAB can effectively deliver safe daily operations, improve capacity and contribute to the overall performance of the Network. The participants were further briefed on the DANUBE FAB coordination meeting with the European Commission, the DANUBE FAB participation at the World ATM Congress 2019 and the progress made by the Common Training Board.
The ANSP Board members were also briefed on the development of the Common Training Academy concept. The ANSP Board members were informed of the decision made by the DANUBE FAB Training Board to run a pilot-project, initially focussing on ATSEP training.
The ANSP Board Members discussed the necessary proceedings to maintain the operation of the two cross-border sectors, implemented in 2014, through the third reference period.
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Thirteenth Meeting of the DANUBE FAB Governing Council
The DANUBE FAB Governing Council members held their thirteenth meeting on 28th May in Bucharest, Romania. The meeting was co-chaired Mr. Sorin-Aurel ENCUTESCU, Deputy Director General Romanian NSA and Mr. Georgi PEEV, Director General BULATSA, and attended by representatives of the Ministries of Transport, Civil and Military Aviation Authorities, National Supervisory Authorities and ANSPs from both countries. Delegates were welcomed from the Republic of North Macedonia, who have held observer status since October 2015.
One of the highest-priority projects for DANUBE FAB is the FAB enlargement and as such, the first decision of the session was to formally approve the Republic of Moldova as Observer to DANUBE FAB.
The members of the Governing Council took note of the progress of DANUBE FAB strategic planning and reporting, status of the FAB procurements, Inter-FAB coordination activities and the progress of the FAB High Priority projects. The members of the Council discussed and took note of recommendations made in the DANUBE FAB Annual Report 2018, principally that DANUBE FAB Strategic Programme should be subject to a comprehensive review, taking into account the latest EU level developments, namely ‘A proposal for the future architecture of the European Airspace’ and the ‘Report of the Wise Persons Group on the future of the single European Sky’.
The DANUBE FAB Governing Council members were further briefed on the DANUBE FAB coordination meeting with the European Commission, the DANUBE FAB participation at the World ATM Congress 2019, the progress made by the Common Training Board and the reports of the ANSP Board and NSA Board.
The next round of DANUBE FAB Governing Bodies meetings are planned for Autumn 2019 in Bulgaria.
Representatives of Lufthansa airline visited BULATSA and got acquainted with the activities of the company. They had the opportunity to be informed about the overall activity, the specifics of the operations of Air Traffic Controllers and the different stages of their training.
At the meeting were discussed the challenges airlines are facing for capacity management and the quality, flexible and efficient service provided by BULATSA in the context of ever-increasing traffic.
Big interest arose the visit to the Training Center and the operational room at Sofia Air Traffic Control Center, where they monitored in real time the training process at the modern air traffic control simulator of BULATSA and the servicing of the air traffic over Bulgaria.
As of April 6, started the normal operations at the new Istanbul airport. On this date entered into force the new Letters of Agreement between BULATSA and the Turkish air navigation services provider DHMI. According to the agreed procedures, Bulgarian air traffic controllers interact and coordinate with their colleagues from Turkey a main part of the traffic to and from the new airport, as well as the currently expanding Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the Asian coast of Istanbul. Also in operation is the new Cross-border Arrival Management tool XMAN, part of DHMI’s Arrival Manager AMAN. The system serves to arrange the arriving traffic and reduce aircraft delays when approaching the airport as early as from the Bulgarian territory.
Although only a few days have passed since the start of operation of the new airport, the first results show that the serious preliminary training of the Bulgarian air traffic controllers has been conducted with high quality and in accordance with the highest standards in aviation.
The developed in BULATSA training programs, including theoretical training and practical exercises, provided the necessary preparation for optimal response to the changes in the airspace organization and the working procedures accompanying the opening of the new airport. Significant progress has been achieved in integrating the traffic from and to Istanbul into the intense traffic in the airspace serviced by BULATSA.
BULATSA will continue to perform professionally the activities agreed so far with the Turkish side, which will bring significant benefits to aviation operators and passengers, such as reducing the holding time on approach and reducing fuel consumption, which in turn will lead to increased flight efficiency and reduced environmental impact.
BULATSA hosted a Visitors’ Day to present the conducted validation of the TESLA prototype for pre-industrialization phase, under project PJ.10-02a – “Improved Performance in the Provision of Separation”. The prototype TESLA (Tactical Encounter SoLver Assistant) is a joint project of Airbus D&S and BULATSA, launched in 2016 in fulfillment of activities of SESAR 2020 Programme. Representatives of the air navigation service providers of France, Germany, Poland and Italy and other guests from the industry, including Airbus Aircraft and Deep Blue Consulting & Research, got acquainted with the prototype’s progress and functionalities in interactive format. They watched a demonstration session of TESLA’s behavior and capabilities through air traffic management simulation. Bulgarian air traffic controllers demonstrated the resolution of many conflict situations in the area of Sofia Approach and Sofia Control through the use of the prototype, which examines the possibilities for improving the accuracy of the predicted airplane trajectory using current flight data from the aircraft board (EPP – Extended projected profile). * SESAR 2020 is a programme of the European Union that is focused 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.
On 25 March 2019 started a validation of project PJ.10-2a “Improved Performance in the Provision of Separation”, Phase V3 (“pre-industrialization”), to demonstrate the maturity of the prototype TESLA (Tactical Encounter SoLver Assistant).
The prototype was developed by Airbus Defense and Space (Airbus D&S) in accordance with the operational requirements of BULATSA, in fulfillment of project PJ 10 activities of SESAR 2020 Programme. The purpose of the project is to provide Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) with automated means for detecting and preventing conflicts between aircraft, increasing the capacity of airspace and supporting the management of the increasing traffic. The validation is conducted in the test platform “BULATSA Innovation Grid”, specially equipped with workstations for ATCOs and pseudo-pilots.
The validation of TESLA functionalities is conducted through simulation of the air traffic management in the area of Sofia Approach and Sofia Control with significant complexity and traffic intensity. The possibilities for improving airplane separation accuracy by using actual flight data from the board of the aircraft – EPP (Extended Projected Profile) are also being examined.
The Bulgarian air traffic controllers will assess the possibilities for resolving multiple conflict situations with the use of the prototype. The validation exercise will gather information on the maturity of TESLA (according to SESAR Programme standards), which information will be subject to expert analysis. The results and the final assessment of the prototype capabilities are expected in the second half of 2019.
* SESAR 2020 is a programme of the European Union that is focused 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
During the World ATM Congress in Madrid air traffic controllers from BULATSA and engineers from AIRBUS Aircraft and AIRBUS Defence and Space participated in a three-day joint demonstration of the expanded and tested so far functionalities of the TESLA prototype for phase V2 (Feasibility) – part of SESAR 2020 Programme.
The prototype has been developed by BULATSA and AIRBUS Defence and Space under SESAR Solution PJ.10-02a – Tactical Encounter Solver Assistant (TESLA).
The TESLA prototype aims at assisting ATCOs in resolving potential conflicts in terminal areas with medium and high traffic density with the purpose of tactical separation control. The prototype shall assess the ATCO’s work and present different options for conflict prevention by analyzing aircraft trajectories and suggesting actions for resolution of each specific situation.
The teams carry out preparatory activities for validation of Phase V3 (pre-industrialization), which include conducting a real-time simulation using the prototype developed. The exercise is planned to be conducted in the end of March 2019 in BULATSA, Sofia.
A discussion hosted by FABEC on airspace capacity in Europe was held yesterday at the World Air Traffic Management Congress in Madrid. Representatives of functional airspace blocks in Europe (DANUBE FAB, BALTIC FAB, BLUE MED FAB, FABCE, FABEC) and the Network Manager discussed the views and experiences of passengers. The aim is to share the practices of the difficulties in servicing the increasing traffic and delays.
BULATSA’s position was presented by the Director of European Programmes, Projects and Strategies in BULATSA Mr. Veselin Stoyanov. Participants paid attention to factors, other than the provision of ANS, that have significant impact on airspace capacity. Analyzed was also the need to improve the environmental performance indicator, not only in the deviation from the shortest route, but also the possibility of using airspace and the preferences of airlines, for example an indicator that takes into account the free route compared to the other flight planning possibilities.
Earlier at the Congress was also held a debate on the participation of functional airspace blocks in SESAR solutions, hosted by DANUBE FAB and moderated by James Hanson, Helios. In the discussion took part Mr. Nikolas Warinsko (SDM), Mr. Filip Cornelis (DG MOVE), Mr. Jakob Kepa (SDM) and representatives of DANUBE FAB, BALTIC FAB, BLUE MED FAB, FAB Europe Central and FAB Central Europe.
A main focus was placed on the challenges and opportunities for developing the role of FABs. FAB representatives united in their desire to further develop the FAB concept and to ensure participation in the preparation of the future European airspace architecture. They expressed firm support for the development of the functional airspace blocks in the context of SESAR. According to Mr Nikolas Warinsko, SDM is ready to continue its work on FABs involvement as key factors in SESAR’s technological progress.
SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM) and SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) organized a congress walking tour at the World ATM Congress in Madrid. It gave visitors an opportunity to meet with experts from the SESAR community and to get acquainted with the activities that are being prepared and deployed in whole Europe.
The walking tours took place within the context of a sequence of activities, organized by European aviation partners on the theme “Europe for Aviation”. DANUBE FAB for a second consecutive year presented many of its key projects contributing to the transformation of Air Traffic Management (ATM).
BULATSA and ROMATSA experts showcased SESAR related projects, representing technological solutions in various areas of ATM deployment, such as optimizing the performance of air traffic System-Wide Information Management and Security.
The DANUBE FAB sequence of presentations in the SESAR Walking Tours started with an overview on the latest solutions related to the implementation of the Traffic Complexity Assessment Tool (tCAT) project in Sofia ACC. It was presented by Ivan Hassamski, who also informed about a tCAT Visitors’ Day planned to take place on 26 March 2019 at BULATSA premises in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The DANUBE FAB stand hosted three SESAR Walking Tours on the topics of System-Wide Information Management and Security.
Mihai Spiridonescu (ROMATSA) made a presentation focused on the stakeholder’s contribution to the procurement and deployment of NewPENS.
Florin Stoian (ROMATSA), supported by Patrick Mana (EUROCONTROL), showcased SWIM Common PKI and the policies and procedures for establishing a secure framework, which allows ANSPs, airspace users, military, airports, etc., to identify themselves and encrypt/decrypt information via digital certificates.
Daniela Vasileva (BULATSA) presented the successful implementation of a local Security Operation Center (SOC) at BULATSA within the framework of SESAR. The local SOC in BULATSA provides a platform for monitoring, analysis and control of system logs, network traffic, system files and management of incidents related to information security. The platform is a comprehensive solution providing reliable protection of BULATSA’s IT infrastructure against conventional and unconventional cyber-threats.
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