New centre will enable EUROCONTROL has opened its new Network Manager Operations Centre.
The European ATM organisation’s Network Manager Operations Centre (NMOC) provides airspace data management, flight planning services and air traffic flow and capacity management for its 41 member states and Israel and Morroco.
The NMOC helps to manage, streamline and improve air traffic operations in Europe, with a strong network-minded approach.
The transition to the new Ops Room took place on October 30 and 31 and according to EUROCONTROL, was a seamless without any disruption or changes for its operational partners.
Extensive testing and shadow operations were performed to ensure a smooth transition.
The new NMOC will change over the coming years as part of the iNM (Integrated Network Manager) programme, which is introducing a digital architecture at EUROCONTROL to improve and smooth the flow of air traffic across Europe.
Existing network management systems at EUROCONTROL have been in place for 25 years but are reaching their technical limits in terms of performance.
Around 11 million flights are expected next year and 16 million flights per year in 2050.
EUROCONTROL is partnering with Indra and Atos-Cronos, Cegeka and Sopra Steria on the iNM programme.
Next year will see the start of shadow operations running the new iNM system in parallel with EUROCONTROL’s legacy systems, while 2025 will see the start of eEAD (enhanced European aeronautical information services database) operations and the rollout of new digital products.
The full deployment of iNM is not expected to be complete until 2029.
Raúl Medina, director general of EUROCONTROL said, “This is a major step forward in our transformation of the Network Manager, making sure that EUROCONTROL will be able to serve the needs of the European aviation network for many years to come. I’d like to warmly thank all the staff and teams who have worked so hard to make this transition happen."