Growing traffic numbers, environmental concerns and cost efficiency issues are creating huge demands on air traffic management of tomorrow. Current regulations limit Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) deployment based on specific airspace endorsements, but the IFAV3 project aims to enable a more flexible deployment of ATCOs to sectors with different strategies, procedural means and technical enablers to meet the growing demand.
On May 27, 2025, an Open Day was held at the INECO premises in Madrid to present and validate the GRU prototype developed within the IFAV3 project – Solution 1c “Smart Sector Grouping”.
The event brought together operational and strategic stakeholders and other project partners to explore and assess the potential of the Smart Sector Grouping solution to strategically support ANSPs (Air Navigation Service Providers) in designing, years in advance, the optimal sector grouping structure (Unit Endorsement oriented), to meet future traffic demand maximising the usage of the available Air Traffic Service Unit resources (e.g. sector capacities) and estimating manpower future needs.
The objective of the event was to showcase the functionalities of the GRU prototype and gather user feedback through a live validation exercise using a real use case: the Barcelona ACC (Area Control Centre) en-route scenario.
In this scenario, the airspace was initially divided into two sector groups (east and west, as nowadays) covering a total of 17 volumes in both of them. Participants were asked to redesign this configuration into three sector groups by proposing two or three alternative groupings. These alternatives had to meet specific constraints, and in line with the IFAV3 concept, the most flexible sector combination had to be selected.
GRU Interface
The process consisted of three phases:
- Participants proposed initial sector group alternatives based on operational knowledge.
- They then used the GRU tool to assess these alternatives by analysing collapsed sector demand and identifying optimal configurations.
- Finally, participants refined their proposals and selected one or two candidates for potential endorsement under the IFAV3 concept.
At the end of the exercise, participants completed a questionnaire to express their overall satisfaction with the tool.
The event was structured to facilitate interaction, enabling participants to test the tool in a hands-on environment and reflect on its decision-support capabilities. The session also included time for Q&A and open discussion, which provided valuable feedback on the perceived effectiveness, usability, and benefits of GRU.
In addition, the day before the Open Day, a similar exercise was conducted in which participants were asked to complete two questionnaires to assess their satisfaction with both the current method and the new approach proposed by GRU.
The validation yielded highly promising outcomes:
- General workload decreased by approximately 40%. Participants noted a significant reduction in perceived cognitive and operational workload when using GRU for decision-making.
- Trust in the tool increased by around 30%. Users reported improved confidence in the outputs generated by GRU compared to traditional planning methods.
- Support in decision-making improved by 50%. The tool was seen as a valuable enabler for more robust and data-driven strategic planning.
- Preference for GRU was twice as high as for previous methods. Participants showed a clear inclination to adopt GRU for future planning exercises over legacy processes.
- Job satisfaction increased by around 40%. GRU was perceived to streamline complex tasks, leading to improved efficiency and workplace satisfaction.
- Potential improvements in ATCO productivity were estimated between 1% and 5%, according to CEF2 metrics, supporting the goal of enhancing cost-efficiency while maintaining capacity and safety standards.
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