From data to published product: EUROCONTROL completes the digital chain for aeronautical information with iNM Wave 2.5

Delivered through Wave 2.5 of iNM (integrated Network Management), the EUROCONTROL Network Manager's digital transformation programme for its operational systems, this represents the largest single delivery so far regarding eEAD, allowing clients to produce charts, Aeronautical Information Publications (AIPs) and digital data sets from a single validated source, and enhancing every other product in the eEAD suite.

The European aviation network is a highly complex system of routes, sectors and ground infrastructure that changes continuously. More than 60 States provide aeronautical information to eEAD, while over 200 organisations use the system to access charts, AIPs and NOTAMs. Historically, these products have been produced through document-centred processes, separately from the underlying data – an approach that made consistency hard to guarantee, and change slow to propagate.

Wave 2.5 closes that gap, enabling aeronautical information service providers now to manage their data, produce their published products and distribute them digitally, end-to-end, within a single system and from a single validated source of data.

iNM Wave 2.5 marks the next phase of the operational rollout of eEAD, following the launch of the Minimum Viable Product in May 2025 (iNM Wave 2) and eEAD Evolution 1 (iNM Wave 2.4) in May 2026. This new release significantly expands the services available to aeronautical information providers and users, bringing the aviation community closer to the full transition from the legacy EAD system to the eEAD system, accessed through the new NM User Interface (NMUI) and hosted on the iNM Digital Platform, EUROCONTROL’s mission-critical cloud.  

Chart Production (CHP) is a new tool for creating and managing aviation charts in line with international ICAO standards (ICAO Annex 4) and EU rules (EU Regulation 2017/373). It covers the full range of ICAO chart types – from en-route, area and instrument approach charts to aerodrome obstacle, ground movement and free route charts — each with its pre-configured symbol, label, template and grid libraries, and it supports all four ICAO map projections. Charts are synchronised automatically, with a change management workflow that lets cartographers review, preview and resolve pending data changes before applying them. Every modification is recorded in iNM Legal Recording for full accountability. 

AIP Production is used to create, update, publish and manage the main documents that provide official information for aviation users.  This includes AIPs – the legally binding guidance documents issued by a country containing lasting details on airspace, air navigation, and airports – as well as eAIP, the interactive, electronic version of it. It imports AIXM 5.1 data directly from eEAD, publishes into the AIS Document Library, and automatically keeps a record of when each publication was issued. 

The AIS Document Library (ADL) is the central place where these aviation documents are managed and published. It controls the whole publication process – from uploading a document through review and approval to its final release. Different responsibilities can be assigned to operators, reviewers and supervisors. Users can search for documents, subscribe to updates and receive automatic suggestions when NOTAMs may be needed because of a published change, helping organisations follow ICAO requirements (ICAO Doc 8126). 

ADL also delivers end-to-end management of Digital Data Sets — the machine-readable aeronautical products at the centre of ICAO's shift from aeronautical information services to aeronautical information management. Providers can define dataset series and data product specifications, upload datasets with automated AIXM conformance verification and validation, review results in human-readable form, visualise features on a map, and publish through SWIM-compliant information services. 

Wave 2.5 brings a range of improvements across the wider eEAD platform.  For teams responsible for maintaining AIS data, the platform now provides better ways to work together. Organisations can coordinate data updates in a structured way, publish Digital NOTAMs directly, and use a much wider range of map-based tools. 

There are also improvements to the platform’s security, data exchange and administration such as stronger authentication through the EACP public key infrastructure, standardised B2B error reporting, support for file transfers up to 10 GB, archive signature verification and controlled retention in Legal Recording, and expanded organisation and role management across the platform. 

Training sessions to support the transition are being organised through the EUROCONTROL Aviation Learning Centre in line with the stakeholder training plan.