Doubts have surfaced over the European Commission’s approach to developing the technology for its much-vaunted Single European Sky (SES) programme following strong criticism from the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (Canso).
Canso, the body representing air traffic management (ATM) service providers worldwide, has accused the Commission of following a “government-led” approach to developing the SES which, if adopted, will result in excessive and unnecessary costs and possible delays to the programme.
Its comments result from the Commission’s November release of its communication on the SES industrial and technology programme, Sesar, which has replaced Eurocontrol’s Sesame, the original SES definition and implementation programme. The Communication promises €2.1 billion ($2.5 billion) of investment into Sesar over seven years, but Canso says it is “disappointed” to see that it fails to take into account the “many days, weeks and months of consultation” with industry preceding publication.
Canso secretary general Alexander ter Kuile criticises the EC’s apparent intention to follow the same technology development philosophy for Sesame as for the Galileo European satellite navigation programme. “Galileo is different because there is no defined user, wheras SES is specifically for the airline industry,” he says. “The SES technology effort needs to be demand-led by the airlines.”
Ter Kuile adds: “You have to see Sesar and the SES as completely different entities. It is clear the SES means a total reorganisation of European ATM systems, which means there’s going to be a huge and unavoidable government element. But Sesar is purely about technology and should be driven by what the airlines want and should be focused on safety, efficiency and customer satisfaction.”
The Commission insists, however, that Sesar “is very much an industry-led project. The foreseen governance structure meets the requirements that industry should play an important role in the Sesar management and decision making process. The EC is continuing to discuss with all stakeholders, including Canso, to ensure their requirements and expectations are appropriately taken into account.”
Ter Kuile applauds the new Industry Consultation Body (ICB) set up by the Commission to ensure all stakeholders are represented in the SES decision-making process. He adds, however, that “regretfully, none of the industry’s input to the ICB was reflected in the final communication”.
JULIAN MOXON/LONDON
Source: Flight International
