A single programme to build a Single European Sky

An interview with Bernard Miaillier, Deputy Director, Cooperative Network Design Directorate of Eurocontrol.

Bernard Miaillier is Deputy Director of the Cooperative Network Design Directorate of Eurocontrol and leads the Eurocontrol contribution to SESAR. Since joining Eurocontrol in 1987, he has been involved in future ATM/CNS concept definition and implementation planning, and in management and coordination of R&D programmes. He led the development of the European ATM 2000+ Strategy and was the Project Manager of the SESAR Definition Phase.

1. Bernard, when and how did you become a part of the SESAR adventure?

The key starting point is really 2002, with the report of the high level advisory group of the European Commission, Parliament and CEOs - this recommended the need to produce an ATM Master Plan. There had also been a similar recommendation from Eurocontrol’s Performance Review Commission. However, it is not enough to have a master plan if there is no programme to support that plan. So, industry turned to the Commission to obtain financial support for a three-stages programme – planning, R&D and implementation – and in summer 2004 European Commissioner for energy and transport Loyola de Palacio launched SESAME, the precursor to SESAR.

2. SESAR technology will define new air traffic management systems – what are in your opinion the key elements of these modernised systems?

It is not so much the key technologies that are important, but why we need new systems and what kinds of systems we need. This should be understood: decisions are made by airspace users, air navigation service providers, airports – they all apply to the trajectory at the planning stage and in real time during the flight – and today, these decisions are very fragmented and based on limited information; they apply only to small portions of the flight at a time.

If we set ourselves the goal of creating a network with accurate flight information available when users need it and exchanging information when they need it, then automatically, this brings us to the technology we need: eg. SWIM, accurate positioning technology through Satellite Navigation and new functionalities and interfaces for the people using this information.

As a result, this will allow improving the performance of ATM systems. Currently, we have fragmented airspace and systems and SESAR will impact on performance by removing impediments to better services.