Digitalization and innovation are the new trending topics and challenge for the ATM sector, this is even more valid under the Covid-19 pressure. What are the technological and operational pillars for digitalizing the ATM system?

The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis but it is also an opportunity that should not be wasted.  It has created a new sense of urgency for change; aviation will need to change; for us in Air Traffic Management, it will mean embracing this new era of digitalization which is coming whether we like it or not.  We believe there are four pillars to digitalization.

First, there is the step “from analog to digital.” As an example, we are replacing analog radios with digital systems which are connected, maintained and integrated within a wider network.

The second pillar means connecting digital data or systems through a network, in other words: connectivity. As an example we can see initiatives like the  new  pan-European network and communication services, like NewPENS and the Digital Backbone.

Then comes the third pillar – the sharing of data, information and services. This third step is the concept behind our Virtual Centre programme, which will eventually share systems and services across a network.  

And at the end this will allow us to build the fourth pillar: if we can openly share and access more and many data we can start to apply intelligence to that connected data and move further towards automation and more intelligent systems. Areas that could benefit are, for example, conflict detection and resolution. We will be able to manage these on a network level, rather than in a sector.

These steps clearly represent a move from a vertically integrated, location dependent, locked ATM system to a more open, horizontally or transversely-connected, future ATM system.

The Virtual Center represents a new opportunity for the ATM Industry to foster performance improvements, improve up-to-date sharing of information and then enable more effective and flexible Air Traffic Service provision. How do you see the future of ATM based on this new paradigm and how do you see the evolution of this model in Europe and the major benefits? 

The concept has already been outlined in the European Airspace Architecture Study and the corresponding ATM Masterplan 2020.  So our approach is not uniquely Swiss – the study has already identified what the future will look like and how we want to get there.

The key words for us are "location independence.” ATM services provision will be independent of the location of the equipment and control centres. In a transversally-connected ATM network we won’t have “area” control centres anymore we will just have connected control centres, part of a wider European network, supported by a new Network Manager. This optimizes the network, rather than individual sectors. I find it very strange that in 2021 we are still investing millions of euros in systems optimizing the sectors rather than optimizing the network. If we did the latter we would be able to manage the entire European ATM system far more efficiently and reduce the workload and stress levels on our controllers.

It is clear that we need a more resilient and efficient ATM system in Europe. We should not need to build in capacity buffers across 68 disconnected area control centres and plan for operations based on excess capacity to manage sudden peaks in demand.

By taking a network approach we can plan capacity closer to the actual demand because we will be able to share the load among the connected centres. And we do not need to bear the growing expense of 37 different flight data processing (FDP) systems across Europe based on outdated and disconnected architectures.

COVID-19 has underlined the importance of resilience. Air navigation service providers (ANSPs) have hardly any flexibility today to respond to demand changes due to their current operating model. Our operating model is not resilient enough to follow the business cycle of our main partners and stakeholders, airlines and airports.

A virtual centre approach will allow us to be far more scalable and flexible and reduce our cost base.  We believe that taking this approach in Switzerland – creating a single sky and one location-independent system supporting two control centres operating as one – we will generate between CHF15 million to CHF20 million savings a year. If one would extrapolate that across Europe the benefits could be substantial.  

Coflight Cloud Service (CCS) is one of the first examples of data service provision. How do you see the role of ANSPs acting as ATM data services providers (ADSP) versus the industry and do you foresee for Skyguide further steps in provision from other ANSPs/industries of other services traditionally performed in-house?

I am very proud of the progress CCS has made over the last five years to prove the concept of cross-border service provisioning;  Skyguide's first steps in the area have been taken together with DSNA and ENAV. It’s an important milestone for the industry.

We have a clear vision of how we want to move forward with such concepts. The provision of "up-stream" data services - such as flight data processing - serving a number of ANSPs requires the provider to operate at a sizeable scale to provide these services efficiently. Skyguide is too small to do that. Therefore, we intend to focus on very specific, niche services where our expertise is of higher value, such as decision support services or human/machine interfaces.

We accept that in the future we will not be doing everything we do today and will give up some of our activities to partners big enough to have the scale to offer their services at margins low enough to be competitive.

Skyguide has recently joint the A6 Alliance as independent member. What is in your view the role of the Alliance and what is the real added value it can provide to ANSPs and the ATM Community in general?

The value of an alliance is to align forces to achieve a common goal.  With Skyguide as a full member we expect to bring our innovator role into the definition of such a common goal – which has yet to be fully defined, I believe. We will support those in Europe who want to move forward and transform ATM to become a more resilient and efficient service for our partners and stakeholders.