EUROCONTROL and Slovenia Control sign cooperation agreement to deploy the ATM data as a service concept

John Santurbano, Director of EUROCONTROL’s Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC), and Franc Željko Županič, CEO of Slovenia Control, have signed a cooperation agreement establishing a framework of cooperation between the two air navigation service providers to deploy the ATM Data as a Service (ADaaS) concept.

The cooperation between the two organisations dates back to 2017, with the common development of a first ADaaS prototype. A series of shadow operation trials of live traffic carried out between Slovenia Control and MUAC proved that an ATM Data Service Provider (ADSP) can deliver services to Air Traffic Service Units (ATSUs) with proper contingency and disaster recovery.

The recent Agreement brings this partnership one step further towards the implementation phase and provides for the deployment of the ADSP/ATSU concept as from 2025, with the definition of MUAC’s future flight data processing system (FDPS) architecture as a primary system and Slovenia Control’s FDPS as a fall-back.  

In a first implementation step, Slovenia Control’s flight data processing system (the KAMI FDPS) will be adapted to serve as a new and enhanced fall-back system for MUAC. The required functional changes and modifications to the Slovenia Control KAMI flight data processing system, originally developed for and supplied to Slovenia Control by CS SOFT a.s., will be made by Slovenia Control. Slovenia Control will then provide MUAC with two sub-licences granting authorisation to exercise the intellectual property rights relating to the KAMI flight data processing system at two operational units.

Implementation of the ADSP/ATSU concept, as highlighted in the European Architecture Study, will ensure notable benefits for airspace users and air navigation service providers alike, namely greater ATM efficiency, reduced operating costs, greater synergies and maximum system integration and interoperability. It is an essential step towards the concept of data centres developed in support of the Single European Sky, and towards meeting the performance targets set by the European Commission.