On 21 January, representatives from Europe’s leading aviation authorities came together for a workshop to discuss SESAR activities involving National Authorities and EASA. In total 35 participants joined the session, including representatives from 17 National Authorities, 12 Military Authorities, the European Commission, EASA and Eurocontrol. Their participation signifies a continued interest and support for the SESAR Programme for Research and Innovation (R&I) and its related activities.

The workshop welcomed a broad range of discussions on a variety of topics, from the current status of SESAR’s R&I activities, the campaign to update the European ATM Master Plan, to an overview of SESAR Demonstration Activities results and a look at on-going RPAS activities.

Representatives from EASA and the National Authorities gave their own perspective on authority involvement in the Programme and provided lessons learned to date.  The National Authorities expressed particular interest in EASA’s involvement in Proof of Concept coordination with Authorities, especially in view of SESAR’s Large Scale Demonstration Activities. The National Authorities also highlighted their interest with regards to the military's involvement in SESAR 2020. The session also provided clarification on how the SESAR Programme for R&I will be aligned with ICAO activities and the NextGen Programme.  

The participation of relevant Authorities in the SESAR R&I Work Programme brings considerable benefits to both parties: For the SESAR JU, it means receiving valid inputs with which to improve results, while their involvement enables relevant authorities to better prepare for the deployment phase. All of those present at the workshop expressed a desire to become more involved in SESAR and the SESAR JU looks forward to continuing working closely with the Authorities over the course of 2015.