Network operations
EUROCONTROL’s network operations activities cover ATFCM and initial flight planning tasks as well as ATM data management, distribution and sharing.
They will act as a central unit for air traffic flow management in line with Single European Sky (SES) regulations.
Air traffic flow and capacity management (ATFCM)
ATFCM undertaken by EUROCONTROL balances the demand for flights in European airspace over the long- and short-term as well as the current day’s activities to the availability of air traffic control capacity.
Initial flight planning (IFP)
EUROCONTROL’s centralised initial flight plan (IFPL) processing operations begin when an aircraft operator files a flight plan (FPL). Once this has been received, along with any associated messages, it is first validated and, if compliant with regulations and within the capacity of the network, accepted.
Further activities include managing and assigning the applicable secondary surveillance radar (SSR) transponder codes and undertaking a call sign similarity (CSS) check as well as ensuring that the operator has not been blacklisted from flying in European airspace.
Once this has been done, the flight plan is distributed among all relevant stakeholders to ensure the timely sharing of common data between everyone concerned - aircraft operators, air navigation service providers and flow managers.
Airspace data operations
The airspace data operations provides updated (including in real time) airspace data to the downstream network management functions, supporting airspace changes validation and the Network Operations Plan (NOP).
