Julian Moxon/PARIS
Eurocontrol has launched the feasibility phase of an eight-country Free Route Airspace Project (FRAP), to increase capacity and reduce potential conflicts in European airspace.
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are co-operating in the programme, which comprises mainly simulation activities. The target for the move to the implementation phase is "the 2003 timeframe", says Eugene O'Brien, chairman of the FRAP airspace management group. Eurocontrol is unwilling to commit to a precise timetable "because that depends on the results of the feasibility phase", O'Brien adds.
The eventual plan is that airlines operating within the FRAP scheme will be able to prepare flight plans with "user preferred trajectories" in upper airspace routings between points within the designated area. This will enable operators to fly more direct routes, avoiding many of the kinks which exist as they fly from waypoint to waypoint, reducing travel time and saving airlines up to 60 million euros ($64 million) a year. The FRAP will also provide a "substantial increase in capacity", says O'Brien. "It is impossible to say how much at this stage," he adds.
"There will be no established route network within the FRAP area, so there will be a lot more crossing points, and therefore fewer conflict zones. We estimate there will be a one-third reduction in potential conflicts," he says. Responsibility for separation will remain entirely in the hands of air traffic controllers, although, as part of its longer term ATM-2000+Strategy planning, Eurocontrol is also working on a scheme to give pilots limited involvement in air traffic management to reduce controller workload and increase capacity further (Flight International, 24 February-2 March).
The feasibility phase includes rapid prototyping to set up scenarios similar to those that controllers will experience in a FRAP environment. Various simulation programmes are under way to develop an understanding of the sectorisation, workload and conflict detection elements.
Source: Flight International
