BULATSA received a jubilee decoration from the Federation of Science and Technical Unions in Bulgaria (FSTUB) for active, creative and union activity and the 50-th anniversary of the enterprise. The Director General Georgi Peev was awarded with the “Golden Decoration of FSTUB” for personal contribution and merit in the Federation’s activities, at an official meeting of the aviation community dedicated to the 74-th anniversary of Bulgarian aviation.
The passenger air transport in Bulgaria was launched on June 29 at Vrazhdebna Airport with the opening of the first line Sofia-Plovdiv-Burgas. The event was organized by the Union of Veterans of Bulgarian Civil Aviation, the Bulgarian Airlines Association, FSTUB, the Science and Technical Unions on Transport at the Air Transport Institute and with the support of BULATSA, Sofia Airport SPJSC and DG CAA.
PMI (Project Management Institute) Bulgaria presented its first yearly awards, recognizing outstanding project management achievements by nominating individuals, projects and organisations that have shined with exemplary results in project management during the last year.
BULATSA was awarded first place in the public sector category with the project for the implementation of a traffic complexity management system (tCAT project). The project also received recognition in the EU-funded category.
The tCAT system integrates information from a variety of sources to build a forecast assessment of traffic complexity in a tactical time horizon. It enables optimized management of airspace and available resources.
PМI is the world’s leading authority in project management, bringing together millions of project professionals worldwide. The organization promotes standards and best practices and provides leadership and training in order to empower people and organisations to make their ideas a reality.
The EU Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council, held in Luxembourg, adopted a common position on the European Commission’s legislative proposal on the reform of the Single European Sky.
The representatives of the Member States agreed on the position “general approach” regarding the reform, which aims to optimize European airspace management and the air navigation service system by increasing capacity, improving cost-efficiency and boosing the system’s ability to adapt to changes in traffic. The changes are also expected to reduce aviation CO2 footprint.
BULATSA was actively involved in drafting the position of the Republic of Bulgaria, with concrete proposals on the texts in the adopted documents. The opinions presented are the basis for the Council’s balanced approach in achieving set objectives and forming effective solutions.
Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Christina Velinova expressed Bulgaria’s support for the main goals of the Single European Sky. According to her, the compromise texts proposed by the Portuguese Presidency are a major step in the right direction.
The agreement on the Council’s “general approach” gives a green light to the EU Presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament on the final version of the text. At the end of June 2021, the legislative proposal will be adopted in the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN), which will kick off an inter-institutional trialogue between the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament.
In order to increase the mutual understanding between the DANUBE FAB Social Partners and their respective national member organisations, the members of the SCF convened online for their 16th meeting on 19th May 2021. The aim of the meeting was to discuss and give opinions on the current strategic actions taken by DANUBE FAB, as well as the technical and regulatory changes that have occurred at a European level since the last meeting.
The staff representatives were informed of the outcomes of the Strategic Programme, Annual Plan and Annual Report documents which were adopted by the Governing Council at its last meeting. Following this, BULATSA and ROMATSA representatives focused on other ongoing initiatives, in particular, those which will have significant positive impacts long into the future, such as the Strategic Impact Study.
Regarding specific progress made by DANUBE FAB, attendees were informed of the status of procurements and the progress made on the FAB’s High Priority Projects. A number of successes were highlighted in relation to these projects, despite the challenging landscape, with attendees informed that on 27th January 2021, Slovakia joined SEE FRA and talks were already ongoing for the further extension of SEE FRA to other neighbouring countries. In addition, attendees were informed of the completion of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Data Link Services (DLS) above FL285 projects.
Finally, InterFAB coordination was discussed. Whilst several meetings and workshops have occurred since SCF/15 a future InterFAB Research Workshop is expected to be hosted by DANUBE FAB in late 2022 in Sofia.
The next DANUBE FAB social consultation will be organized in Autumn 2021.
The DANUBE FAB Governing Council members held their sixteenth meeting online on 28th April. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Adrian FOGHIS, Secretary of State, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Romania and Mr. Hristo SHTERIONOV, Director General CAA Bulgaria, and attended by representatives of the Ministries of Transport, Civil and Military Aviation Authorities, National Supervisory Authorities and ANSPs from both countries. Delegates were also welcomed from the European Commission and the Republic of North Macedonia.
The Council was briefed on the progress of the latest round of DANUBE FAB strategic planning and reporting, status of the FAB procurements, the NSA Board Activity Report and the progress made on the FAB’s High Priority projects.
Participants adopted the Strategic Programme 2021 – 2025, Annual Plan 2021 and Annual Report 2020, which had been updated based on interviews with DANUBE FAB experts and project managers. These documents identified areas for developments within the FAB to enable a quick and efficient recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 and to ensure the High Priority projects are significantly progressed in 2021.
Members discussed the main ongoing regulatory initiatives taking place at European level and their potential impact on the FAB. The SES 2+ proposals and the Airspace Architecture Study Transition Plan, with a particular focus on ATM Data Services, were explored in detail. The members of the Council also recognised the impacts of COVID-19 on the FAB, for example the updates to the Performance and Charging Scheme Regulation currently being discussed to allow for revised targets to be submitted by States. Attendees expressed their gratitude to the European Commission for participating to the meeting as an Observer and hearing first-hand the challenges faced and solutions implemented by DANUBE FAB to mitigate the impact of the current crisis.
A great emphasis was also given to enlarging DANUBE FAB. The Council was pleased to hear of the intentions expressed by the representatives of the Republic of North Macedonia that by the end of 2021 a decision on the way forward will be presented to the DANUBE FAB partners.
The next round of DANUBE FAB Governing Bodies meetings are planned for late 2021.
On 27th April the management of BULATSA and ROMATSA met online for the sixteenth meeting of the DANUBE FAB ANSP Board. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Georgi PEEV, Director General BULATSA, and Mr Adrian COJOC, Director General ROMATSA.
The meeting had a busy agenda, ranging from technical matters to more high-level political aspects. ANSP Board members were briefed on the progress of the latest round of DANUBE FAB strategic planning and reporting, status of the FAB procurements and the progress made on the FAB’s five High Priority projects.
During this meeting, attendees were updated on projects which have recently been completed within the FAB, most notably the inclusion of Slovakian airspace in SEE FRA (South-East Free Route Airspace) as of January 2021. DANUBE FAB also completed the deployment of Voice Over Internet Protocol and Datalink Services above FL285. The ANSP Board agreed to investigate options for expanding FRA further, and identify technical infrastructure projects that could be completed cooperatively between BULATSA and ROMATSA.
Participants were briefed on the potential impact on the FAB of the recently released Deloitte Report on the Future of EUROCONTROL. InterFAB events attended and planned were also discussed, notхing that DANUBE FAB expects to host a research workshop in Sofia in late 2022.
Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority (BULATSA) notifies aircraft operators and other users of the Bulgarian airspace that the distribution of aeronautical chart 1:500 000 on paper is suspended. The chart will be provided free of charge only in electronic form on the corporate website of BULATSA on the following address:
We would like to express our congratulations on this date to all professionals or just fans of aviation and cosmonautics!
BULATSA employees made their card with messages about aviation.
The second InterFAB Expert Talk hosted by FABEC on 24 March 2021 and attended by more than 80 delegates from all over Europe addressed complexities surrounding the interpretation of financial data by the European Commission’s Performance Review Body (PRB) and air navigation service providers (ANSPs). A presentation by Eckhard Drews, DFS Director Controlling, and Vitan Todorov, BULATSA Director Finance and Chief Accountant, explained how the term ‘economic surplus’ is interpreted very differently with profound repercussions on the reporting of financial results. We as ANSPs are often confronted by statements by the PRB that ANSPs are generating a lot of surplus, a term which is interpreted to mean profit ” said Eckhard Drews To illustrate the conundrum, Eckhard Drews showed the principle of the calculation of economic surplus by PRB and furthermore the transformation from the results of the statutory accounts to economic surplus. For some ANSPs there is a huge gap between both figures. For example, the economic surplus could show a positive result in the reporting, whereas the outcome of the statutory accounts may be negative.
The Expert Talk presented three different approaches to avoid misinterpretation of ANSP results. Firstly, there needs to be a recognition that costs may already exceed revenue in ANSP performance plans. Secondly, surplus should not be used by the PRB as representative of financial ANSP results. Thirdly, mixing planned and actual figures should not be relied upon to calculate the cost of capital. It is good that the PRB has taken the initiative to invent this concept of economic surplus, but it would be useful to discuss in greater detail what it shows and how it can be used ” said Vitan Todorov, BULATSA Director of Finance and Chief Accountant In one example, the PRB monitoring report released in October 2020 refers to ‘substantial surpluses’ during the reference period which ANSPs do not have to return to airspace users. In this case, the PRB is expecting ANSPs to use so-called ‘accumulated surplus’ to manage the equity gap in 2020 and 2021 to reduce costs during the crisis. There are additional factors to consider. Economic surplus can be positive or negative depending upon whether the costs to generate the output are higher or lower than the revenue. Furthermore, deviations from assumptions embedded in the performance plan can arise as a result of changes in forecast traffic volume and other risk-sharing mechanisms which take into account airspace capacity, punctuality and environmental performance. Air traffic service provision is generally seen as relatively low risk. However, we see nowadays it can be a very risky business. ANSPs do not intend to deviate from the plan but an ANSP has to manage the situation according to developments over the course of the reference period ” said Vitan Todorov.
The PRB introduced the term ‘economic surplus’ in a balanced paper presented to the Single European Sky Committee in 2015 as it can be used as a proxy for early indication of the economic performance of the ANSP under a performance plan, but it does not state that this can be used by the not so deeply involved community to measure ‘money left’ to the ANSP. Furthermore, surpluses/losses should be measured versus the results embedded in the performance plan. Subsequently economic surplus is analogous with economic profit rather than accounting profit and remains at variance with statutory terms. The PRB considers economic surplus as embedded in the cost of capital, whereas when calculating its value the PRB uses the weighted average cost of capital, which is a pre-tax value. Vitan Todorov argues the cost of equity is not a surplus by default but is part of the cost base, a factor recognised by ICAO. Many industries use established key performance indicators such as Earnings Before Tax (EBT) and Earnings Before Income Tax (EBIT). When assessing the financial situation of ANSPs, it would be better to use official established terms,” said Eckhard Drews.
A joint task force set up in September 2020, developed at InterFAB level with EUROCONTROL and the PRB, set in motion open and frank discussions to address these concerns. Among action points agreed to date, the task force recommends an additional footnote in performance reports to explain economic surplus does not reflect legal accounting values, in order to reduce the risk of misinterpretation. In conclusion, the presenters called for indicators outlining the financial results of ANSPs which are closer to those of the statutory accounts. Of particular importance, they warned that substituting ‘profit’ in place of ‘economic surplus’ indicates ASNPs have accrued a financial surplus which might not have actually been the case.
InterFAB Expert Talks provide a platform where experiences can be shared and views exchanged on the key issues which relate to data and performance in ATM. www.fabec.eu/ExpertTalks .
BULATSA implements a new air traffic complexity management system. The SESAR deployment modernization project 2015_217_AF4 aims at deploying the Traffic Complexity Assessment Tool (tCAT) in Sofia Area Control Centre (ACC). When the air traffic increases again, this tool will help to manage complex air traffic situations in Bulgaria and bring substantial performance benefits to the European aviation.
The tool uses Enhanced Tactical Flow Management System (ETFMS) flight data information, combined with other prediction data in order to evaluate the complexity of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) operation. It supports the planning of the Air Navigation Service Provider’s resources to manage the air traffic in a more efficient and cost-effective manner while optimizing capacity.
The SESAR project covers in full the existing regulatory gap in SESAR Deployment Programme (SDP) Family 4.4.2 “Traffic Complexity Tools” in Bulgaria. The Traffic Complexity Tools is the only one SDP Family within the Pilot Common Project (PCP) Sub-AF 4.2, related to “Automated Support for Traffic Complexity Assessment”, which remains in CP1 regulation under a different numbering “Sub-AF 4.3”, but with the same technical background.
In the framework of the CEF-funded projects coordinated by SESAR Deployment Manager, BULATSA is involved in 2 SESAR deployment projects as a Project Leader and in another 5 as a Project Contributor. Those, 7 in total, ATM modernization projects are in the areas of Network Collaborative Management, the initial System Wide Information Management (SWIM) and initial Trajectory Information Sharing.
The completion of the project was planned for 2020 but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed by a few months and the project is expected to be completed in September 2021. It will support the planning of the Air Navigation Service Provider’s resources to manage the air traffic in an efficient and cost-effective manner. It is expected that the project will bring the largest performance benefits in terms of capacity increase and reduction of delays in the en-route airspace.
A Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) was conducted by SESAR Deployment Manager, supported by the expertise of Network Manager (Eurocontrol), as part of a larger effort to assess the implementation of the requirements of regulation (EC) №716/2014 (The PCP Regulation). The analysis is based on the standard Eurocontrol methodologies for delay analysis in EATMN and assessment of benefits and costs of ATM investments. The results of the CBA, after having factored in the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, indicate a forecast cumulative Net Present Value of about 22 million euros by 2030.
User Feedback
“One of the first things I appreciated in the system is the ease of inputting data and new configurations as well as the contemporary and intuitive HMI, providing a much better presentation of operational information. The possibility to be able to see forecast and real radar data on the same screen is a lot of help when selecting the best sector configuration.”
Deyan Nikolov,
FMP Coordinator
“The system functionalities, related to ATCO workload assessment, have given us new possibilities to assess forecast air traffic situation and assist the opening and closing of sectors. The module for automated opening scheme optimization has made the selection of configurations much easier. The automatic data refresh and the simplified exchange with NM save us the additional time and effort and strongly support the ATFM process.”
Petar Papazov,
Head of Sofia FMP
“Unlike the legacy system, which provided archive only for the last observed air situation, the new tCAT system supports a full archive of each intermediate state of the traffic forecast. This detailed archive allows us to have a much deeper insight of the operational decision-making process and issue better targeted safety recommendations.”
The tool uses Enhanced Tactical Flow Management System (ETFMS) flight data information, combined with other prediction data in order to evaluate the complexity of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) operation. It supports the planning of the Air Navigation Service Provider’s resources to manage the air traffic in a more efficient and cost-effective manner while optimizing capacity.
The SESAR project covers in full the existing regulatory gap in SESAR Deployment Programme (SDP) Family 4.4.2 “Traffic Complexity Tools” in Bulgaria. The Traffic Complexity Tools is the only one SDP Family within the Pilot Common Project (PCP) Sub-AF 4.2, related to “Automated Support for Traffic Complexity Assessment”, which remains in CP1 regulation under a different numbering “Sub-AF 4.3”, but with the same technical background.
In the framework of the CEF-funded projects coordinated by SESAR Deployment Manager, BULATSA is involved in 2 SESAR deployment projects as a Project Leader and in another 5 as a Project Contributor. Those, 7 in total, ATM modernization projects are in the areas of Network Collaborative Management, the initial System Wide Information Management (SWIM) and initial Trajectory Information Sharing.
The completion of the project was planned for 2020 but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed by a few months and the project is expected to be completed in September 2021. It will support the planning of the Air Navigation Service Provider’s resources to manage the air traffic in an efficient and cost-effective manner. It is expected that the project will bring the largest performance benefits in terms of capacity increase and reduction of delays in the en-route airspace.
A Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) was conducted by SESAR Deployment Manager, supported by the expertise of Network Manager (Eurocontrol), as part of a larger effort to assess the implementation of the requirements of regulation (EC) №716/2014 (The PCP Regulation). The analysis is based on the standard Eurocontrol methodologies for delay analysis in EATMN and assessment of benefits and costs of ATM investments. The results of the CBA, after having factored in the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, indicate a forecast cumulative Net Present Value of about 22 million euros by 2030.
User Feedback
“One of the first things I appreciated in the system is the ease of inputting data and new configurations as well as the contemporary and intuitive HMI, providing a much better presentation of operational information. The possibility to be able to see forecast and real radar data on the same screen is a lot of help when selecting the best sector configuration.”
Deyan Nikolov,
FMP Coordinator
“The system functionalities, related to ATCO workload assessment, have given us new possibilities to assess forecast air traffic situation and assist the opening and closing of sectors. The module for automated opening scheme optimization has made the selection of configurations much easier. The automatic data refresh and the simplified exchange with NM save us the additional time and effort and strongly support the ATFM process.”
Petar Papazov,
Head of Sofia FMP
“Unlike the legacy system, which provided archive only for the last observed air situation, the new tCAT system supports a full archive of each intermediate state of the traffic forecast. This detailed archive allows us to have a much deeper insight of the operational decision-making process and issue better targeted safety recommendations.”
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