Airspace User associations seek clarification on SESAR 3 partnership

The Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda in conjunction with the High-Level Partnership Proposal paves the way for the SESAR 3 programme. However, concerns have been raised with respect to the scope, form and governance of the proposed partnership leading to a joint association letter being sent the Commission requesting further clarity in these key areas.

As part of Horizon Europe - the next EU research and innovation programme (2021-2027) - the European Commission plans to establish several partnerships across various strategic industrial areas, including for air traffic management (ATM).

The future 'Partnership for Integrated ATM' looks to build on the momentum generated by the SESAR Joint Undertaking to deliver the Digital European Sky, making air transport smarter, more efficient, scalable, and more sustainable. Complementing the European ATM Master Plan 2020 and the High-Level Partnership Proposal (HLPP), the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) details the research and innovation roadmaps to achieve the Digital European Sky, matching the ambitions of the European Green Deal and the Europe fit for the digital age initiative, and addresses a number of key areas of activity including; connected and automated ATM, ground/air integration, capacity on demand, U-Space, multimodality, artificial intelligence and civil-mil interoperability as well as the aforementioned Green Deal.

The Airspace User community have welcomed the draft SRIA as well as the HLPP. At the recent Civil-Military Stakeholder Committee workshop it was announced that all stakeholders would be invited to be founding members and becoming as such ‘partners’, in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. The AU community stands ready to support SESAR 3, however, given the current crisis it is important that the AUs can still support SESAR 3 without becoming a founding member and contribute in a manner similar to that seen in SESAR 1 and 2.

The associations also have concerns regarding the governance structure and ensuring that the AUs, as the end user requirements and business needs are reflected accordingly.

To that end, the associations, including ERA, have written to the Commission and remain available to work with DG MOVE to address these concerns.

A copy of the letter can be found here and members will be updated by the policy team as the situation evolves.