DFS Aviation Services and Athens International Airport will redesign Athens TMA airspace

DFS Aviation Services will redesign the Terminal Manoeuvring Area (TMA) of Athens and develop Performance Based Navigation (PBN) flight procedures for Athens International Airport.

DFS Aviation Services (DAS), subsidiary of the German air navigation service provider DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung, has been selected through an open international tender to provide its consulting services for the development of Performance Based Navigation (PBN) instrument flight procedures and the redesign of Athinai Terminal Manoeuvring Area (TMA) for the provision of air traffic services by the Greek ANSP (Hellenic Aviation Service Provider – HASP).

A large team of air traffic management experts from DAS and DFS will work closely with HASP and Athens International Airport (AIA) to accomplish this assignment. To execute specific aspects of the project, Dutch subcontractors to70 and NLR will contribute their specialised knowledge. The work will last until summer 2027 for the full scope deliverable.

In the initial phase, overlay PBN procedures for Athens Airport (LGAV) are already designed and put into operation within the existing TMA. Next phase covers a full airspace redesign, validation, and implementation of a new concept for Athinai TMA. Further, a safety assessment and an on-the-job familiarisation training on Flight Procedure Design is included. 

The objective is to sthe TMA airspace and the Airport operations in favour of safety, enhanced capacity, reduced environmental footprint, notably less workload for ATC and cost efficiency, with tangible benefits by mid-2026 onwards.  

Mr. Alexandros Aravanis, Chief Operations Officer at AIA is fully on-board with this assignment: “The collaboration between HASP, AIA and DAS will ensure and accelerate the PBN implementation in Athens, under the frame of a greater airspace re-design, in partnership and with the active engagement of all involved stakeholders. It is expected that the operational improvements deriving from the PBN procedures and the new airspace concepts, will optimise flight operations, will improve on time performance, at reduced environmental impact thus, contributing significantly to the ultimate task for sustainable flight operations.”

Mr George Saounatsos, Governor of HASP is delighted with this project kicking-off with DAS: “Together, working as one team, we can unleash the full potential of Athens International Airport and we are looking forward to having an experienced partner on board.”

“It’s fantastic to have the opportunity executing this important project for AIA and HASP. We have a great team working on it and we’re confident that it’ll be a big success for the Greek society,” says Andreas Pötzsch, Managing Director of DAS.