Press release

CLEAN ATM (Air Traffic Management) initiative awarded €60 million to accelerate the modernisation of the European sky

23 October 2023

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Paloma Aba Garrote, Director of CINEA (the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency), Mariagrazia La Piscopia, Executive Director of the SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM) and Raúl Medina, Director General of EUROCONTROL

Brussels, 23 October 2023 - Paloma Aba Garrote, Director of CINEA (the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency), Mariagrazia La Piscopia, Executive Director of the SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM) and Raúl Medina, Director General of EUROCONTROL and representing the Organisation in its role as SDM Consortium Coordinator, today signed a Grant Agreement awarding €60 million to the CLEAN ATM project.

Prepared and coordinated by the SDM in response to the 2022 Connecting Europe Facility for Transport call for proposals, CLEAN ATM represents a vital step forward in accelerating the modernisation and decarbonisation of the aviation industry in the years ahead.

Focusing on delivering major advances in air traffic management, the initiative brings together over 40 civil and military operational stakeholders from across the European aviation ecosystem, comprising airlines, air navigation service providers, airports, meteorological providers, the EUROCONTROL Network Manager and military authorities, all united towards achieving the common objective of further decarbonising the aviation sector.

"The overall objective of the CEF programme is to develop, modernise and complete trans-European networks, taking into account the Union's long-term decarbonisation commitments and the objectives of the European Green Deal. The "CLEAN ATM" project has been selected to accelerate the adoption of the Common Project One Regulation, under the well-established coordination of the SESAR Deployment Manager. Tangible results are expected in terms of reduced fuel consumption, decreased CO2 emissions, and shortened travel times for passengers. In doing so, we are contributing to smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth. I look forward to hearing about the progress made by the Clean ATM project over time and the successful results achieved for the benefit of all citizens."

Paloma Aba Garrote Director CINEA

"CLEAN ATM is a further strong sign that operational stakeholders are fully committed towards SESAR deployment and its decarbonisation objectives. Our role is now to support the awarded organisations, in their endeavours to make ATM modernisation and digitalisation deliver results in daily operations.I am convinced that through further coordinated and synchronised SESAR deployment and together with all aviation partners acting as one team, we are making ATM smarter, interoperable, safer, more resilient, and more environmentally sustainable every day."

Mariagrazia La Piscopia Executive Director SESAR Deployment Manager

"As Consortium Coordinator of the SESAR Deployment Manager, EUROCONTROL welcomes this step forward in the modernisation of European air traffic management. This signature marks another important milestone in our joint vision to make our industry perform better. It is also a recognition of our successful partnership and our joint commitment towards ensuring a sustainable, modern and digitalised European aviation sector."

Raúl Medina EUROCONTROL

This project was selected in June 2022 as one of the transport projects to receive a European grant from the CEF (Connecting Europe Facility), which is the main instrument supporting strategic transport investments in the European Union.

With a grant worth €60 million, CLEAN ATM is the largest of the ATM-related projects selected by the EU, adding to the existing set of approximately 350 Implementation Projects under the coordination of the SESAR Deployment Manager.

CLEAN ATM will help in accelerating the adoption of ATM functionalities and technologies, including:

Extended Airport Operations Plan and its integration with the Network Operations Plan – the adoption of a rolling plan for major European hubs which will help reduce congestion, delays, unnecessary carbon and noise emissions, and improve overall passenger experience.
Free Route Airspace, an operational concept that allows aircraft to fly shorter and more direct routes when crossing European airspace regardless of national borders, reducing flight times, and allowing for a significant reduction in CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
System Wide Information Management, a set of common standards, protocols and services to further digitalise the aviation industry, opening the door to further automation and the delivery of efficiencies in the way air traffic management is run on a daily basis.

When combined, these technologies will enable air traffic management in Europe to become smarter, interoperable, safer, more resilient and more environmentally sustainable.

From left: Erich Klock (SDM), Isabelle Jagiello, Lucie Zackova, Valeria Villanova (CINEA), Renaud Trapp (EUROCONTROL/SDM), Paloma Aba Garrote (CINEA), Mariagrazia La Piscopia (SDM), Raúl Medina (EUROCONTROL), Monica Palacios Ituarte (SDM), Predrag Vranjkovic (EUROCONTROL) and Gaia Basile (SDM).

CINEA:

CINEA is an Executive Agency established by the European Commission to implement parts of EU funding programmes for transport, energy, climate action, environment and maritime fisheries and aquaculture. CINEA plays a key role in supporting the EU Green Deal through the efficient and effective implementation of its delegated programmes. Its aim is to support its beneficiaries, establish strong partnerships, deliver high-quality programme and project management, foster effective knowledge sharing and create synergies between programmes - to support a sustainable, connected, and decarbonised Europe.

For more information visit our website: https://cinea.ec.europa.eu
Email: [email protected]

SESAR Deployment Manager

The Single European Sky’s ATM Research project, “SESAR”, is one of the most ambitious modernisation projects launched by the European Union, contributing to the implementation of the Digital Single European Sky. SESAR’s goal is to define, develop and deploy the technological solutions needed to increase the performance and digitalisation of Europe’s ATM system in the most cost-, flight-efficient and environmentally friendly conditions.

The SESAR Deployment Manager is responsible for the Management Level of the SESAR deployment governance, in particular for the coordination of the implementation of the EU’s Common Projects, based on SESAR Solutions to be deployed in a synchronised and timely manner across Europe according to the SESAR Deployment Programme.

Today, more than nine years after the beginning of this deployment phase in 2014, the modernisation of the European ATM systems and infrastructure is an operational reality with 271 projects in operation and 69 ongoing (update October 2023). More importantly, it is delivering its expected performance benefits to the aviation community, its stakeholders and in turn to European passengers, citizens, economy and environment benefitting the #EUGreenDeal.

For more information visit our website: www.sesardeploymentmanager.eu
Email: [email protected]

EUROCONTROL

EUROCONTROL is a pan-European, civil-military organisation dedicated to supporting European aviation. As Europe’s Network Manager, we play a central coordination role, using our technical expertise to support Member States and a wide range of stakeholders (air navigation service providers, civil and military airspace users, airports and aircraft/equipment manufacturers). We strive to make European aviation safe, efficient, scalable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable, partnering with the European Union to make the Single European Sky a reality.

For more information visit our website: www.eurocontrol.int
Email: [email protected]