CP1 and SESAR Deployment Programme
According to the definitions included into Article 2 of recently revised Regulation (EU) n. 409/2013, an ATM functionality is defined as: “a group of ATM interoperable operational functions or services and their technological enablers related to trajectory, airspace and surface management or to information sharing within the en-route, terminal, airport or network operating environments”.
In this perspective, the technical Annex to Regulation (EU) n. 2021/116 lays down a set of six ATM functionalities (AFs) to be implemented across the European ATM Network up to 2027, thus setting forth the content of the Common Project 1. CP1 AFs are also divided into 20 sub-ATM functionalities (sub-AFs), which are integral parts of AFs and contribute to their respective scope.
The Common Project 1 Regulation introduces a fixed final implementation deadline for all its content, the 31 of December 2027, by which all implementation activities linked to CP1 should be completed. With the full deployment of the Regulation, the full potential of Common Project 1 will be materialised, also in terms of operational and performance benefits.
However, the Annex to the Regulation goes a step beyond, with the goal of providing a high-level timeline for all stakeholders required to invest to implement its content. In particular, for each AF and sub-AF, Articles 1.3, 2.3, 3.3, 4.3, 5.3 and 6.3 of the Annex to the Regulation define their own “target dates”.
AFs and sub-AFs are based on SESAR Solutions, as developed and validated by the SESAR Joint Undertaking and linked to Essential Operational Changes (EOCs) described in the European ATM Master Plan. With the goal of further detailing the business view included in the Regulation and of breaking it down into technical and operational terms, the SESAR Deployment Programme (SDP) translates these AFs and Sub-AFs into coherent deployment Families with clear deployment milestones for each affected stakeholder.
A Family is defined as a specific set of homogeneous technological and operational elements, which include systems and procedures and must be deployed within a defined geographical scope and timeframe. This will ensure that the operational scenario defined by the CP1 Regulation, and its associated benefits (performance improvements) become a reality. The timely and synchronised implementation of the CP1 Families is paramount to ensure the associated performance improvements are delivered to the ATM Community and – in turn – to European passengers.
Families are implemented by the relevant ATM operational stakeholders through specific implementation projects, under the coordination and synchronisation of the SESAR Deployment Manager: such implementation projects, to be aligned with the requirements set forth by the CP1 Regulation, must be executed by stakeholders with their own funds or with the support of EU co-funding (as part of the SESAR Deployment Framework Partnership Agreement). In both cases, however, the implementation projects shall be designed and executed in accordance with the content and timeline set forth by CP1 and the SESAR Deployment Programme.
In 2024, a limited update of the SESAR Deployment Programme (vis-à-vis its latest available edition, as approved by EC in August 2022) was developed to review the description of ATM Functionality 6 (Initial Trajectory Information Sharing), following the successful conclusion of the CP1 industrialisation forum, which led to confirming such functionality as part of the Regulation. In particular, AF6-related updates refer to up-to-date information concerning the validation of SESAR solutions, the publication of technical specifications, the availability of new guidance material, etc.
Moreover, the update of the SESAR Deployment Programme includes refinements and clarifications concerning the description of ATM Functionality 1 (Extended AMAN horizon and AMAN/DMAN integration) and ATM Functionality 5 (SWIM), particularly addressing the review of the associated AF5 deployment milestones. The latter update has been carried out in full consistency with the new information included in the Supporting Material for SDP Implementation 2024.
