FMTP Connections to Vienna and Ljubljana Established

November 29, 2013

On the night of 6/7 November 2013, the FMTP connection between Zagreb and Ljubljana was put into operation, after a successful completion of the tests.

That is the third flight data exchange connection (OLDI) switched to the FMTP protocol, following the establishment of connections to Budapest (28 June) and Vienna (1 October).

The Flight Message Transfer Protocol (FMTP) is a new communication protocol which, by use of standard network technologies (TCP/IP), enhances the former mode of flight data exchange between adjacent air navigation service providers.

At the establishment of the connection to Ljubljana, the PENS network was first used to connect Zagreb with adjacent centres. The PENS is a pan-European communication infrastructure jointly implemented by Eurocontrol and European air navigation service providers, in order to meet the existing and future ground communication requirements.

This transition is a step further to meeting the requirements set in the EU Regulations (No. 633/2007 and 283/2011) stipulating the transfer to a new standard of flight data exchange for all European air navigation service providers.

Tests and preparations for the transition to other neighbouring ATC centres that have established the flight data exchange with CCL are in progress, with impending connections during the next year.