Twelfth meetings of the DANUBE FAB Governing Bodies

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Twelfth meetings of the DANUBE FAB Governing Bodies

Photo: BULATSA

12th ANSP Board meeting / 23rd October 2018

The members of the DANUBE FAB ANSP Board met on the 23rd October 2018 in Sofia, Bulgaria for the twelfth time since the establishment of the FAB in 2012. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Georgi PEEV, Director General of BULATSA and Mr. CARNU Fanica, Deputy Director General of ROMATSA.
The participants were informed and exchanged views on the progress of the DANUBE FAB high priority projects in the operational domain like SEE FRA and seasonal FRA implementation, the status of DANUBE FAB procurements, FAB enlargement etc.
They also discussed a number of topics of common interest on which the FAB partners found a baseline for closer cooperation. These areas were identified within a Workshop organised by BULATSA in October 2018 with regard to the Synchronized Implementation of Regulation (EU) 2017/373, as well within a series of workshops held the umbrella of the Inter-FAB Cooperation Platform.
The members of the ANSP Board approved the necessary actions for the DANUBE FAB participation at the next World ATM Congress in Madrid 2019.

12th Governing Council meeting – 24th October 2018

On the 24th October, the DANUBE FAB Governing Council held its twelfth meeting in Belchin, Bulgaria.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministries of Transport, Civil and Military Aviation Authorities, National Supervisory Authorities and ANSPs from both countries. Delegates from the Republic of Macedonia attended the meeting as Observers, reaffirming their interest to participate in the work of DANUBE FAB on topics of mutual interest.
The members of the Council took note of the current DANUBE FAB developments in the high priority projects regarding the technical and operational domains and were presented with the regular ANSP Board and NSA Board reports.
They also focused on the possible extension of the DANUBE FAB with neighbouring countries which has been an overarching goal since the establishment of the FAB between Romania and the Republic of Bulgaria. A formal process has been initiated to invite neighbouring countries to apply for Observer status in DANUBE FAB, following the defined application process as foreseen by the DANUBE FAB Observers Policy.
The members of the Council reiterated their commitment to an open dialogue with the European Commission on FAB matters especially in the light of the evolving regulatory SES framework.
The next round of DANUBE FAB Governing Bodies meetings is planned for spring 2019 in Romania.

The Airspace Management Board held a meeting at BULATSA

Photo: BULATSA

The Airspace Management Board (AMB) held an official meeting at BULATSA. The High-level body which defines the airspace structures discussed the rules of their use, actualization of the regulatory framework and the civil-military coordination.
Representatives of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the Air Force, the Agency Hail Suppression, the GD CAA and BULATSA attended the meeting. It was a constructive and beneficial meeting where the strategic importance of the national airspace was highlighted.

DANUBE FAB partners organized a Regulation (EU) 2017/373 Synchronized Implementation Workshop

DANUBE FAB partners organized a workshop on the synchronized implementation of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373 of 1 March 2017 laying down common requirements for providers of air traffic management/air navigation services and other air traffic management network functions and their oversight, repealing Regulation (EC) No 482/2008, Implementing Regulations (EU) No 1034/2011, (EU) No 1035/2011 and (EU) 2016/1377 and amending Regulation (EU) No 677/2011. The workshop was hosted by BULATSA on 1-3 October 2018 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Representatives of the Romanian and Bulgarian NSAs together with operational, technical, safety, quality, training, CNS, MET, AIS and strategy and planning managers from ROMATSA and BULATSA participated at the event.

DANUBE FAB partners discussed topics such as compliance management, description of Functional Systems, Development of Formal interfaces, Change management, ATSEP Training and competence, Certification and transition process, EASA Rulemaking activities and other relevant subjects.

The workshop provided a framework for exchange of views and sharing of best practices between Romania and Bulgaria to reach an aligned approach towards compliance with Regulation EU 2017/ 373.

The new version 5.0 of the Test of English for aviation (TEA) is released

Photo: BULATSA

Test of English for Aviation (TEA), the approved English Language Proficiency Test for aviation professionals, used by BULATSA training center, now has a new, improved version.
The new version 5.0 of the test will be in use from 01 October 2018.
TEA now has a new, improved version that will be in use from 01 October 2018.
Go to https://www.tea-test.com for samples of the new Part 2 task. Challenge yourself to do well with the new recordings and the Task Card.
An updated version of the Notes for Candidates matching the new test format can be found below.
An updated Guide for Candidates and Teachers is available here.
Since Part 2 has changed, it is strongly recommended that candidates practice the task using the materials here.
BULATSA wishes success to all TEA candidates!

Regional cooperation demonstrates sustainable benefits

BULATSA participated in the 5th InterFAB Coordination Meeting together with representatives from Ministries of Transport, National Supervisory Agencies and Air Navigation Service Providers representing BALTIC FAB, BLUE MED FAB, DANUBE FAB, FAB CE, FABEC and South-West FAB met in Sibenik, Croatia, on September 21, to discuss current and upcoming challenges of European aviation.

A diverse range of topics at stake like the airspace architecture strategy, the preparation of RP3, the advantages and disadvantages of fragmentation and a system approach for European Air Traffic were discussed. In addition, participants agreed on several actions to address severe issues like the impact of climate change and volatility. FAB representatives shared best practices on social dialogue, agreed on further steps on the execution of the common InterFAB communication strategy and discussed studies on the EU-US Comparison as well as on the added value of FABs.

Following to the intense and constructive discussions, participants concluded that the InterFAB initiative – and by this the FABs as such – are demonstrating substantial benefits and agreed to further streamline the work to be conducted in the upcoming years.

The winner in the slogan competition “50 years BULATSA” received a drone

The winner in the campaign “50 years BULATSA” Nikolay Krastev received today the grand prize for his proposal „50 years we are drawing paths in the skies. BULATSA Director General Mr. Georgi Peev handed over to the winner a drone DJI Mavic Air WH and recommended him to comply with the rules of its use. Mr. Nikolay Krastev visited BULATSA Operational room and the Tower where the traffic in the airspace of our country is served. „I am impressed by the work of the air traffic controllers and I am happy to be a part of BULATSA jubilee. I believe that the slogan „We are drawing paths in the skies“shows the essence of this important profession. For me, the air traffic controllers are the architectures in the skies because they must take each flight on its way from one airport to another in the safest way. Most of us, the common people, cannot imagine what is the responsibility behind this profession“, said Nikolay Krastev.
According to the rules of safe use of drones he will be responsible for each flight of his remote (unmanned) aircraft after receiving of written permission from the Civil Aviation Authority in a reserved for this purpose airspace.
Using drone without permission of CAA is subject of a fine from 1 000 to 10 000 BGN under Art. 144, para 5 of the Civil Aviation Act. The drone shall be kept in sight, within the reserved for the purpose airspace and in a safe distance from people or their property.
It is compulsory to use drones away from airports and airfields both civil and military.

BULATSA serviced a record number of flights for July

Photo: BULATSA

State enterprise Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority serviced a record number of flights for July. The realized number of flights for the month is 100 418, which is a 11.51% increase compared to 2017 when their number was 90 054.
The number of international flights for the month, which have landed in and departed from our country, is 14 249. There is an increase of 945 flights or 7.10% compared to the same month of last year.
BULATSA has serviced more domestic flights in July 2018 also. Over the last month they were 1 711, while for the same period in 2017 their number was 1 699.
The largest increase however is recorded in the number of serviced overflying international aircraft. For the seventh month of this year have been recorded 84 458 flights, compared to 75 051 for 2017. This is a 12.53% increase.
In 2018, BULATSA reported one more record also. Bulgarian air traffic controllers took part in the servicing of one of the longest-lasting flights in the world. This is the flight of Qantas airline between Perth, Australia and London, lasting more than 17 hours and flying over 14 000 kilometers without a stopover.

BULATSA inaugured a Security Operations Center

BULATSA inaugured its own Security Operations Center (SOC).
The project for its construction is implemented through co-financing from the Cohesion Fund of the European Commission under Connecting Europe Facility.

The project is one of its kind amongst the projects currently being implemented with funding from the European Commission and entirely follows the latest trends in the field of cyber-threat protection.
The Security Operations Center is an overall solution that will provide effective protection against cyber-threats to the BULATSA’s IT infrastructure, including its remote locations – the air traffic control centers in Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv and Gorna Oryahovitsa.
The platform encompasses people, processes and technologies involved in the network control and monitoring, incident response, research and active search for known or unknown, conventional and modern cyber-threats.
Presently, BULATSA is the only air navigation services provider in the Balkans, which has successfully implemented such a project.
The project funding will continue in 2019 also, with additional fine tunings and system improvements being made during this period.

Director General of BULATSA on a visit to Serbia

BULATSA’s Director General Georgi Peev participated in the official delegation, headed by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, in the Republic of Serbia on 21 and 22 June 2018.
During the visit, Georgi Peev held a bilateral meeting with the management of Serbia and Montenegro’s ANS provider – SMATSA, at which was discussed the current topic – DANUBE FAB. Exchanged were views on the challenges related to the providing of the necessary capacity and maintaining high performance of ANSP.
The main focus of the discussions was the invitation, sent in early June, by the Ministries of Transport of Bulgaria and Romania for the accession of the Republic of Serbia with observer status to the work of DANUBE FAB.
Recognizing the role of the Republic of Serbia as a key partner in the ANS provision network in Southeast Europe, the possibility of joining the work of the functional block provides new frameworks of the European perspective for the region.

The sixth edition of the aeronautical chart 1:500 000 was published

Photo: BULATSA

Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority (BULATSA) notifies aircraft operators and users of the Bulgarian airspace regarding the publication of the sixth edition of Aeronautical chart 1:500 000. The chart is available and may be ordered through the AIS department by sending the order form, given in Appendix to Aeronautical Information Circular – AIC 06/18.
The order form is provided below.

Order form

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