European Air Traffic Management

Principles, Practice and Research

Andrew Cook

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781351938839
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Aeronautic & Astronautic Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

European Air Traffic Management: Principles, Practice and Research is a single source of reference on the key subject areas of air traffic management in Europe. It brings together material that was previously unobtainable, hidden within technical documents or dispersed across disparate sources. With a broad cross-section of contributors from across the industry and academia, the book offers an effective treatment of the key issues in current, and developing, European ATM. It explains the principles of air traffic management and its practical workings, bridging the academic and operational worlds to give an insight into this evolving field, with a number of fresh perspectives brought to the text. On-going research and developments are closely integrated into the themes, demonstrating the likely directions of future ATM in Europe and the challenges it will face. It is anticipated that many readers will already have expertise in one or more of the chapters' subject matter, but wish to develop a further understanding of the areas covered in others, taking advantage of the many thematic and operational links which have been illustrated. The book will appeal to both aviation academics and practitioners, equally for those whose area of expertise is outside ATM but want a clearly elucidated source of reference, as to those wishing to broaden existing knowledge.

Chapter 1
The Organisation and Operation of European Airspace

Marc Baumgartner

IFATCA and skyguide

1.1 Introduction

In this chapter we will set the scene for much of the rest of the book. We will first explore the very beginnings of air traffic control, before showing how the situation has evolved from the use of flags, to satellites, and describing the organisation, operation and regulation of airspace in Europe.

During the first years of aviation, the density of air traffic was sufficiently low that it was possible for the captain alone to be responsible for the safety of the aircraft. It was therefore up to him to take necessary measures to avoid other aircraft, obstacles on the ground and terrain. With the spectacular increase in the number of air movements and the substantial acceleration in the development of traffic, the captain gradually lost the ability to carry out all the manoeuvres required to guarantee flight safety – and ATC was born.

In fact, little progress was made with the infant profession until after World War II, whence modern aircraft were pushing the boundaries, and testing notions of absolute sovereignty of airspace. Governments were forced to take some action to ensure safety and efficiency whilst guaranteeing the freedom of the skies. Better route structures were initiated, more efficient radios and navigation aids were introduced, and international agreements struck. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) established procedures and promulgated standards that most national administrations subscribed to.

Before our first chapter gets underway, however, we will explain some basic terminology. Although ICAO does not use the term ‘air navigation service(s)’ (ANS),¹ we have chosen to use this term in order to make the following explanation clearer. This term comprises four main components:

• communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS);

• meteorological services;

• air traffic management (ATM);

• ‘auxiliary’ aviation services.

Figure 1.1 Summary of Air Navigation Services (ANS)

Source: adapted from: EUROCONTROL, 2006h.

ATM, includes all the services related to air navigation, that is:

• Air Space Management (ASM);

• Air Traffic Service(s) (ATS);

• Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM).

The task of ASM is to plan and publish the management of airspace, divided up into air routes, civil and military control routes and areas reserved for airports, while at the same time guaranteeing the safety and fluidity of traffic. Together, ASM and ATFM support the use of the available airspace effectively, including airport capacity, by minimising waiting times (see also later comment on ATFCM).

Whilst this chapter will now develop the foundations for understanding ATC, Chapter 2 will focus on how flight planning and flow management works, with an elaboration in terms of understanding capacity, in Chapter 3. These early chapters will thus build up the picture of air traffic management, before we turn to some of its impacts, in terms of the financial costs of delay, and other implications for managing its growth in terms of the environment and society.

1.2 The Historical Context and Development of ATC

1.2.1 Early Beginnings of Fligh t and ATC

Air traffic control (ATC) is one of the world’s youngest professions. Like many modern professions, it has developed from the humblest beginnings into a highly sophisticated and technology dependant occupation. With ATC there was no ‘big bang’ – it wasn’t discovered or invented but has evolved gradually, driven by demand. Circumstances have dictated that it developed slightly differently from region to region, from country to country and even from city to city. The basic principles remain the same, however, whether one is using highly sophisticated synthetic radar displays and employing satellite communications, or making do with antiquated, procedural control methods – with World War II vintage high frequency radio equipment. ATC is the science (some say the art) of maintaining safety by keeping air traffic separated whilst at the same time ensuring expedition and efficiency. At times, these concepts do not lend themselves to complementary action and it is then that a controller is tested and his or her skills come to the fore.

Once man became airborne in a heavier-than-air machine, his ingenuity and developing technologies permitted him to fly higher and faster. Much the same may be said of ATC. To safeguard aviation, ATC has also employed developing technologies to manage the traffic. Unfortunately, the terrestrial developments have never kept pace with the airborne improvements and it has been in the area of this technology gap that the national air traffic control systems have sometimes been tested, often found wanting, and frequently from whence the protests and controller disputes have derived.

Within two decades of the Wright brothers changing the concept of travel, ‘air traffic controllers’ appeared waving flags. It is possible to theorise that Wilbur Wright was the world’s first air traffic controller with Orville a close second. They did not need to file a flight plan nor seek permission to take off or land. Even by 1905, when their Flyer No. 3 was capable of half-hour flights, it was still the only aircraft in the air.

Before long, the need for an operational watch over aircraft in flight prompted the institution of air traffic control. Firstly, it was the need to know where an individual aircraft was that led airline companies and, later, national institutions, to maintain such a watch in the event of something going wrong so that action would be speedily taken. To do this efficiently, the new invention wireless was to be utilised. Since there were precious few of those about, much cooperation was also needed. Soon after World War I ended this was available and in Europe national military and post and telecommunication authorities (who employed professional radio operators) made available their ground stations for the relay and exchange of information. Then, as more and more aircraft took to the skies, the need to keep those aircraft apart, initially as they were manoeuvring on the ground and, later in the air, became paramount.

1.2.2 The First Commercial Airlines

Aircraft development was particularly accelerated by World War I, although this put paid to much civil aviation as the emphasis switched to military applications. It was shortly after the end of World War I that people began to see that aircraft raised possibilities of profit – and commercial aviation was borne. The honour of being the world’s oldest continuously operated airline goes to the Dutch carrier Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KLM), which was formed in 1919.

By the end of 1920, European airline development was such that KLM, two French airlines, and a Belgian airline were all flying between London and the Continent. The fare from London to Paris was £10 on the British airlines and £6 on the French carriers, the difference being brought about by government subsidies granted to the French companies. These subsidies were to prove fatal to the British carriers and by February 1921 the fledgling British airline industry had collapsed. This embarrassment prompted the British government into a subsidisation policy of their own and several airlines were resurrected.

At the same time, the carriage of wireless became commonplace and, in 1927, mandatory for aircraft carrying ten or more persons. It was this carriage of the recently invented wireless that enabled contact with, and control of, the aircraft beyond the visual confines of the airfields. Britons Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight when they flew from Newfoundland to Ireland in June 1919 and the Australian brothers Ross and Keith Smith completed the first flight from the UK to Australia, in the same year. With aviators such as these proving the feasibility of long-distance flight, the commercial implications were quickly realised and airlines sprang up everywhere in the subsequent decades.

Since profit margins on the commercial flights of the day were usually very thin, it was a requirement that, as far as possible, these flights operated directly from A to B. It was when other aircraft started flying simultaneously from B to A that people began to realise that they may have a problem on their hands! However in the main, it wasn’t this aspect that prompted the implementation of air traffic control. Even by the time of World War II, there still weren’t too many aircraft about, at least not yet enough to warrant traffic separators. The bigger problem still was reliability and keeping track of aircraft in case something went wrong. We need to remember that these early flights were all conducted at low levels and were thus very much susceptible to the vagaries of weather and constrictions of terrain. Also, there were precious few en-route radio navigation aids to assist, so nearly all flying was conducted using visual observation.

Although there weren’t large numbers of aircraft taking to the skies, administrators realised that aviation was a burgeoning industry and, in the way of administrations everywhere, decided that regulations were required and that some standardisation should be applied. This was particularly important in Europe with its multiple national boundaries and languages and, in one of the lesser known decisions emanating from the Versailles Peace Treaty, the International Convention for Air Navigation (ICAN) was born. Nineteen nations² signed this convention giving weight to the development of ‘General Rules for Air Traffic’.

1.2.3 The Birth of Air Routes, Controllers and Advisory Services

Apart from ICAN regulations, in a practical sense, ATC probably has its earliest roots in the London – Amsterdam/Brussels/Paris traffic growth. Following the world’s first commercial mid-air collision on 7 April 1922 over France, measures were taken to ensure it wasn’t repeated. These measures included the carriage of radio and organising a defined set of routes for all to follow visually. London’s Croydon airport was expanding to cater for increasing traffic. The duties of the aviation staff at Croydon were to work out an aircraft’s time of arrival, assist with take-offs and generally be with the pilot and arrange whatever they wanted! As is often the case, another incident prompted the further expansion of these officers’ roles. A minor collision between an arrival and a departure at Croydon resulted in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) from the Department of Civil Aviation which told departing pilots to obtain their order of priority and to await the signal from the ‘controller’ to take off. This represents the first recorded authority for airport staff to make a decision on the ‘control’ of traffic. This signal was to be the waving of a red flag but it soon became obvious that this signal could not be seen from all over the Croydon airfield as it had a slope to one side. To remedy this, the flag waver was moved to the first floor balcony surrounding the observation hut.

In July 1922 the Croydon observation hut was rebuilt with a glass upper storey. The purpose of this, however, wa...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 The Organisation and Operation of European Airspace
• 2 The Principles of Flight Planning and ATM Messaging
• 3 Understanding En-Route Sector Capacity in Europe
• 4 The Management and Costs of Delay
• 5 European ATM and the Environment
• 6 The Future of European Air Transport Operations
• 7 The Single European Sky – EU Reform of ATM
• 8 ATM and Society – Demands and Expectations
• Conclusions and a Look Ahead
• Appendix
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index