Eurocontrol's Central European Air Traffic Services (CEATS) programme will progress to the definition phase at the end of this year, following its completion of the initiation phase.
CEATS is designed to create joint provision of air traffic services within the upper airspace of central European states - Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, northern Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia - and reduce capacity bottlenecks in the region.
The definition phase is due to continue through to the end of next year, Petr Podhrazsky of the CEATS Strategy Planning and Development Unit told delegates at the recent Eurocontrol/ European Commission seminar on global navigation satellite systems in Prague earlier this month. The procurement phase will run through to March 2003, while implementation is scheduled for September 2002-April 2007. The operation phase should start at the beginning of 2005.
A gradual transition to full operations is envisaged, with the CEATS Upper Area Control centre (CUAC) initially providing air traffic services in part of CEATS airspace only in 2007. From 2010, the CUAC will provide ATS in all CEATS airspace, with the programme's strategic performance objectives to be met by 2015, according to Podhrazsky.
The CEATS region will be the first common airspace where cross-border sectorisation is planned, in line with the objectives of Europe's ATM-2000+ Strategy, Podhrazsky adds.
The main objective of the programme is to eliminate all potential capacity bottlenecks in the CEATS region. "The airspace design will be based on the real requirements for the additional capacity, taking into account the potential national differences in need for extra capacity in the CEATS airspace, both in vertical and horizontal dimensions," delegates were told.
Source: Flight International
