The European Commission recommends Hungarian ATM development projects for funding
The European Commission approved a total of 276 (including two Hungarian ATM-related) projects following the first calls for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility, published in 2014. The proposals were submitted with the approval of the Ministry for National Development and with the support of HungaroControl’s strategic partner, Tenderauditor Kft. The total budget of the two projects amounts to EUR 3.2 million, 50% of which is co-financed by the European Union through CEF Transport.
Free Route Airspace from the Black Forest to the Black Sea
Initiated and coordinated by HungaroControl, eight international air traffic navigation service providers submitted a joint application to the CEF 2014 calls for proposals in February 2015. The aim of the technical feasibility study is to develop and validate the Free Route Airspace Concept of Operations (CONOPS) within the Functional Airspace Block Central Europe (FAB CE) with the potential of extending it beyond its borders. The application of Free Route allows that all the flights can plan their routes freely between the entry and exit points of a given airspace saving significant time and reducing fuel consumption. With the introduction of Hungarian Free Route Airspace (HUFRA) on 5 February 2015, HungaroControl was the first ANSP in Europe to abolish the entire fixed flight route network, thus enabling airplanes to use the airspace freely, without any restrictions. Based on the already existing service, the partners participating in the tender could identify in detail the conditions and requirements that are necessary for connecting and harmonising all the various national air traffic control systems. The project executed in the form of an international cooperation is expected to close in June 2017.The completion of the Action is scheduled for June, 2017, with a total budget of EUR 2.2 million (of which HungaroControl’s budget is over EUR 0.8 million) with a co-financing rate of 50 %.
Implementation of Airport Collaborative Decision Making at HungaroControl
The key objective of the project is the upgrade of the Hungarian ATS system (MATIAS, Magyar Automated and Integrated Air Traffic System) for the Airport Collaborative Decision Making capability, in order to integrate the processes of different stakeholders such as airport, ground handlers, airlines and air traffic control into the ATM system. With the introduction of Airport Collaborative Decision Making, taxi times will be on average one minute shorter, so fuel consumption and CO2 emissions can be reduced. The total budget of the project is over EUR 1 million, 50% of which is co-financed by the European Union.
In the preparation and compilation of the two winning tenders with the support of the Ministry for National Development, continuous professional background and practical assistance was provided to HungaroControl by its strategic consulting partner, Tenderauditor Kft.