Photo by Omar Havana for Elio Germani
Members of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee, European Commission officials and other EU policymakers visited the Belgian air traffic control centre of skeyes, on Tuesday 15 July, to learn about how air traffic management (ATM) works in practice.
As air traffic across Europe approaches pre-pandemic levels, Europe’s air navigation services providers (ANSPs) face the challenge of safely guiding aircraft across increasingly crowded skies during the busiest time of the year. It was therefore timely for the visitors to see these complex operations at first hand. They were invited as guests of skeyes, the Belgian ANSP, and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), which represents the European ATM industry.
Over 30 tour guests visited:
- the air traffic control tower serving Brussels Airport
- the air traffic control centre (CANAC 2), which houses both the civil and military air traffic controllers
- the Digital Tower Test Centre, a prototype for the digital control centre currently being set up by skeyes in Namur
- SkeyDrone, which offers services to integrate drones into airspace
The hosts also informed the visitors about the ATM industry’s plans to digitalise and automate systems and processes, the recruitment of new air traffic controllers and how ANSPs can facilitate environmentally optimal routing.
As skeyes CEO, Johan Decuyper said: “Collaboration is key to progress. At skeyes, we actively share our know-how with partners across Europe to help build a stronger, more connected, and future-ready airspace. This collaborative spirit goes hand in hand with our continued investment in innovation – from advanced ATM technologies to digital towers and drone integration. skeyes is widely recognised for its commitment to punctuality – even in an airspace environment marked by turbulent times. These achievements reflect the strength of our strategy and the commitment of our people. Together, we are not only managing today’s skies – we are actively shaping the future of aviation.”
Mario Kunovec-Varga, CEO of Croatia Control and Vice-Chair of CANSO’s EC3 (CEO Committee) added: “Safety is always CANSO’s number one priority, but it was also important to show our guests how ANSPs intend to provide more airspace capacity to match continuously growing air traffic demand and accommodate the unplanned and unexpected levels of regional traffic growth. Our industry calls for EU support to create the right regulatory environment for this transition, with enabling capacity as the critically important focus.”