New Route Handling: Second major step achieved towards the Virtual Center

On April 28th, skyguide put into operation the so-called NRH2 release of the FDP and RadarHMI systems developed by SkySoft-ATM.

This represents of major step of the Virtual Center program for which the objective is twofold: provide New Operation Capabilities to allow location independent sector management and provide New Technical Capabilities with one hot data center for two control centers and with a set of technical services based on a service oriented architecture integrating new services and legacy components.

NRH2 is the second phase of the New Route Handling initiative that includes a change of paradigm in the way Air Traffic Controllers manage the flights and their routes. ATCOs now have a much better awareness of the pilots’ intentions and they welcome the new tools making the trajectory management much easier and more efficient than before.

This release is also and mainly a major enabler for the implementation of Virtual Center’s cornerstone: the single Swiss wide Flight Plan System. Harmonization and focus on overall consistency is the biggest added value of this release that, in spite of the limited traffic at the moment due to the Corona Virus situation, received a warm welcome from the skyguide operational community.