Category: Media center

31^st October 2017
High level representatives of ROMATSA and BULATSA held their tenth meeting of the DANUBE FAB ANSP Board in Sofia, on 31st October. The meeting was co-chaired by the two Directors General of ROMATSA and BULATSA and was an opportunity for the Board’s representatives to take stock of the latest intra/inter FAB developments, to provide information on the status of the current operations and to agree on the way forward and to prioritize the DANUBE FAB activities and projects.
In order to ensure the timely contribution in respect with their commitments, the ANSPs provided more focus on the SEEN FRA implementation and its expansion into SEE FRA, i.e. 24/7 operations, in autumn 2019 and updating the FAB representatives with the latest developments concerning the implementation of seasonal FRA in the Bulgarian Airspace. With regard to the accommodation of neighboring SEEN FRA States – the Republic of Moldova and Slovakia, within the project, it was decided to further review the challenges and opportunities from a technical and operational perspective, reaffirming their readiness to work together to implement the wide FAB objectives.
The parties also highlighted the special importance of the FAB strategy and planning, particularly in the field of technical rationalization and infrastructure, common projects, communications activities, including the inter-FAB coordination and nonetheless, towards identifying common overarching topics for a better partnering.
1st November 2017
The DANUBE FAB Governing Council held their tenth meeting on the 1st of November in Sofia, Republic of 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 were welcomed to the meeting as Observers following the official mandate received at the sixth Governing Council meeting in 2015. The Macedonian delegation expressed their appreciation of the support from DANUBE FAB and their interest to participate in the work of DANUBE FAB on topics of mutual interest.
Main items for discussion of the meeting were the NSA Board and ANSP Board reports, the status of current DANUBE FAB procurements and plans for 2018 and the high priority projects under the Annual Plan.
During the meeting, the Council’s members analyzed the prospects for the FAB developments, both in political and economic terms, as well as regarding the technical and operational particularities reported by NSA Board and by the ANSP Board. In this context, the Council took note of the status of harmonized procedures in DANUBE FAB, the FAB Performance Plan activities status updates and took note of the NSA Board decision to implement a common coordinated approach in regard to the modification and implementation of some EU regulations, namely Reg. 2017/373, Reg.1079/2012 and Reg. 677/2011.
From an operational perspective, the Governing Council was updated with the latest developments under the high priority projects developed under the Annual Plan for 2017, urging the ANSPs to focus on the timely implementation of FRA project and to ensure all necessary resources in order to perform the technical rationalization and infrastructure related projects, namely the implementation of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) in ATM and the implementation of an extended set of OLDI messages.
During the meeting, aspects of multilateral cooperation within the DANUBE FAB were also addressed, including the FAB enlargement, the inter-FAB cooperation, other FAB activities and outputs of recent meetings and related external communications activities. At the same time, the Council was informed by the military representatives about the possible methods for the regulation and cooperation at regional level in respect with the Cross-border Search and Rescue for state aircraft.
The next round of DANUBE FAB Governing Bodies meetings is planned for spring 2018 in Romania.

The twelfth DANUBE FAB Social Consultation Forum (SCF) was held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria on 7 June 2017. As a part of the social dialogue within DANUBE FAB the meeting was focused on the recent developments in ATM and the related social aspects. These regular consultations provide a good tool for the mutual understanding between the social partners and their organizations – ROMATSA and BULATSA.
The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Valentin CIMPUIERU, Director General, ROMATSA and by Mr. Georgi PEEV, Director General, BULATSA. Both Directors General facilitated the active participation of the social partners in the meeting, noting the many recent operational changes to be discussed and the importance of social dialogue between all parties involved.
The staff representative bodies of the two ANSPs were presented with the latest FAB developments, activities since the last Social Consultation Forum and updates on the outcomes of the DANUBE FAB governing bodies meetings. The evolution of DANUBE FAB Free Route Airspace and the way forward regarding DANUBE FAB in the light of the recent EU studies were both key topics of discussion.
Having in mind that the Strategic Program 2017-2021 and the Annual Plan for 2017 were adopted by the Governing Council, discussions took place regarding the status of planned activities, focusing primarily on the high-priority projects such as the DANUBE FAB RP2 Performance Plan, common procurements and technical rationalization and infrastructure.
The next SCF meeting will be held in Romania.

BULATSA participated in the ninth regular meetings of the Air Navigation Services Provider (ANSP) Board and the Governing Council of the Functional Airspace Block DANUBE FAB, which took place on 16 and 17 May 2017 in Bucharest.
The ANSP Board session was co-chaired by the director generals of BULATSA and ROMATSA – Mr. Georgi Peev and Mr. Valentin Cimpuieru.
A major topic was the DANUBE FAB position on the recommendations of the Final Report of the EU-wide FAB Study assigned by the European Commission. It was agreed that the ANSP position on the study shall be presented for additions to the DANUBE FAB Governing Council. The ANSP Board members also discussed the strategic aspects on the development in the next 5 years, some operational and technical matters, as well as the upcoming activities until the end of the year. The participants got acquainted with the status of the Performance Plan for the second reference period (2015-2019) and confirmed their willingness to continue the joint work on the DANUBE FAB Performance Plan framework.
The forum discussed the implementation of the project for introduction of 24-Hour Free Route Airspace – FRA and the successful implementation of Night FRA in the airspaces of Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary (SEEN FRA).
In the session also participated representatives of both countries’ Ministries of Transport, Civil Aviation Administrations and Air Forces. In the discussions also took part the delegates from the Republic of Macedonia, which had been granted an observer status at the sixth meeting of the DANUBE FAB Governing Council. They were thankful for the DANUBE FAB support and expressed their interest to participate in the joint work. The delegates got acquainted with the topics discussed at the sessions at ANSP and supervisory authorities levels within DANUBE FAB.
The Governing Council decided to present a consolidated DANUBE FAB position regarding the recommendations of the EC EU-wide FAB Study through the members of Bulgaria and Romania in the Single European Sky Committee.
The next meetings of the DANUBE FAB ANSP Board and Governing Council shall be held in the autumn in Bulgaria.

On the 8th March 2017 DANUBE FAB CEOs Mr. Georgi Peev, BULATSA and Mr. Valentin Cimpuieru, ROMATSA, hosted an interactive debate on the Future of FABs at the DANUBE FAB stand, involving an exchange of views amongst senior FAB representatives and Mr. Maurizio Castelletti, Head of Single European Sky unit at DG MOVE. The debate was moderated by Mr. Mike Shorthose, Principal Director at Helios Technology LTD. FABs are part of a growing number of tools and collaborations to deliver Single European Sky objectives and their future role must be well defined to ensure relevance in a changing European environment. The open discussion between FABs and the Commission about the future made for an interesting and visionary debate that showcased FABs achievements and progress. FABs representatives reiterated their resolution towards delivering more benefits for all ATM stakeholders. Mr. Peev insisted on taking in consideration local factors that may affect operations during the future developments in the European ATM.

On the 7th of March, 2017 the World ATM Congress was opened by the Spanish Minister of Transport Ingo de la Serna Hernaiz and European Commissioner on Transport Violeta Bulc. Commissioner Bulc delivered a speech with main focus on the ATM digitalisation, urban airspace for drones and usage of artificial intelligence in the ATM.
DANUBE FAB partner ANSPs – BULATSA and ROMATSA demonstrated the practical benefits of their cooperation through jointly exhibiting at the World ATM Congress 2017 in Madrid. Mr. Henrick Hololei, Director General of DG MOVE at the European Commission, and Mr. Massimo Garbini, Managing Director of the SESAR Deployment Manager, expressed their interest to gain a more comprehensive insight into DANUBE FAB’s achievements and dedicated a special visit to the DANUBE FAB stand. The DANUBE FAB team provided a showcase on the DANUBE FAB’s major accomplishments, including the Cross-Border Sectors establishment, Free Routes Implementation and active role in InterFAB cooperation. The next milestone is the completion of the trilateral Free Route Airspace (FRA) implementation – the cross-border Night FRA project between Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria which will be operational by the end of March 2017 thus bridging the airspace between the two FABs of FAB CE and DANUBE FAB and allowing airspace users complete freedom to plan routes throughout the combined airspace of the three nations at night, paving the way for future expansion. Mr. Hololei expressed his opinion that DANUBE FAB is an example that FABs can deliver benefits.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between DANUBE FAB partner ANSPs BULATSA and ROMATSA and Aireon LLC was signed. The MoU establishes a framework for the parties to create a collaborative relationship to discuss the potential deployment of space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) surveillance services and applicable regulations and procedures in the Bulgarian and Romanian airspace. BULATSA and ROMATSA are interested in assessing the use of space-based ADS-B capabilities and ascertaining how those ADS-B capabilities can improve air traffic management/air navigation services provision in DANUBE FAB.