FAB CE News

In May Matej Eljon was appointed as new Director of FAB CE Aviation Ltd. In the interview below he talks about FAB CE and his first priorities in the new position.

There are significant changes going on in Europe because of the integration of the European Airspace. What do you think is the biggest challenge for ANSPs these days?

The biggest challenge for ANSPs is to develop into a high-tech provider, capable of providing more capacity and increased safety in a cost-effective manner. This should be achieved by the implementation of SESAR technologies and cross-border cooperation and consolidation.

Which projects do you consider the biggest success since the establishment of FAB CE?

The biggest success so far is the establishment of the common legal entity, a clear sign of commitment of all stakeholders to achieve results.

What do you think will be the biggest task of the upcoming years for FAB CE’s ANSPs?

The biggest task will be to successfully implement the FAB CE strategy and to deliver it in the most effective way, taking into account all possible synergies available from cross border cooperation. From the project perspective the Free Route Airspace project is currently the most challenging task.

What are your plans, what will you focus on the most as the director- program manager of FAB CE Aviation Services Ltd. in the near future?

My first priorities are to to establish an effective Programme Support Office organisation, to adapt the project structure to better suit the FAB CE Strategy and areas of common interest.

How do you see the future of European air traffic control?

The future is in tight cross-border cooperation, consolidation of ATM systems and procedures as well as in modernisation of systems and infrastructure. Only with such changes the required capacity, cost effectiveness, safety and environmental targets can be met.

      
We also talked to Ivan Hubert, former FAB CE Programme-Manager and Director of FAB CE Aviation Ltd. about his assessment of the current situation.

There are significant changes going on in Europe because of the integration of the European airspace. What do you think is the biggest challenge for ANSPs these days?

Today no ANSP is considered as a stand-alone organization. We all are involved in different bi or multilateral activities. There are also new programmes run under and financed by the EC and there is still a substantial amount of EC regulation to which ANSPs have to accommodate. ANSPs are the key contributors to all those activities that are extremely challenging as well as resource demanding. Therefore ANSPs should seek synergies through cooperation. For certain activities FAB seems to be an appropriate approach. If proper priorities are identified and full commitment is ensured by all participating ANSPs,  I see, regardless of all the limitations that such complex approach is bringing, a potential for the successful implementation of challenging and beneficial projects such as the  Free Route Airspace,  which in my view should be the top priority for ANSPs in the coming years.   

What do you think will be the biggest task of the upcoming years for FAB CE’s ANSPs?

In general FAB has now established the basic framework and necessary tools to continue its implementation as well as its further development in order to prepare for the next reference period. We have developed the set of planning documents at State level (Strategy), we produced  general planning documents for the SuB Committees (FAB CE Roadmap and Activity plans) subject to further refinement and update and we have available the draft of the updated Implementation Plan covering agreed operational scenarios. The ANSPs established the legal entity FAB CE Aviation Services Ltd. through which the necessary program support will be ensured and which will also be used for common procurement of any required services or goods. So the FAB CE ANSPs with the use of the above framework and tools should concentrate on the implementation of the activities defined by the Implementation Plan.   
    

FAB CE Air navigation service providers and representatives of trade unions from the FAB CE region came together for the first Social Dialogue meeting of 2015 on May 19 at the headquarters of HungaroControl in Budapest.

The meeting was chaired by Kornél Szepessy, CEO HungaroControl and the head of the Croatian Air Traffic Controllers´ Association, Zeljko Oreski. More than 40 participants discussed numerous topics ranging from the current status of SES2+, the FAB CE Performance Plan and ongoing activities regarding interFAB cooperation. One major point of the discussion was on how to deal with unplanned traffic increases caused by regional crises. Jozsef Bakos, Head of ATM at HungaroControl, presented the common approach developed by the FAB CE OPS Sub Committee (Presentation:  “A common FAB CE Plan to cope with sudden heavy increase of traffic”)

Matej Eljon,  the newly appointed Director of  FAB CE Aviation Ltd., talked about the new Compnay and ongoing call for tenders for project support services. Danube ATCU called for a common FAB CE approach for "Just Culture Guidelines". In addition, union representatives recommended the harmonization of the quantitative Safety Indicators.

Main objectives improvement of flight efficiency and safety

On 7 May, 2015 in Budapest, directors general of aviation from the six FAB CE states laid down plans for the next few years in order to increase the overall efficiency of air navigation services. The performance plan for the 2015-2019 period sets national and common objectives for safety, environment, capacity and cost efficiency.

The most important aviationendeavour of the European Union is the implementation of the Single European Sky by the comprehensive re-organisation of the European airspace, to improve safety, the environmental impact, capacity and cost efficiency of European aviation One of the key elements of achieving these goals is the establishment of nine functional airspace blocks (FABs) instead of the previously existing state boundary-based system of the European airspace.

In order to increase cooperation between the air navigation services of FABs, action and investment plans are prefixed in five-year based performance plans to be finalised by the Member States, consulted with airlines and approved by the European Commission. The developments and operation of air navigation services aligned to these performance plans contribute to the radical reduction of the significant delays previously experienced in the European airspace as well as to a decrease in fuel consumption and emissions by setting up shorter and more efficient route network. The official FAB CE Performance Plan for the second Single European Sky Reference Period (RP2 2015 – 2019) was now signed in Budapest.

The General Meeting and the Head of the Supervisory Board Ziga Ogrizek have appointed Matej Eljon as new director of FAB CE Aviation Ltd. The designated director will be responsible for running both the day to day business of the Company as well as the Programme Management for FAB CE.

As former Head of CNS and ATM systems at Slovenia Control Matej Eljon has significant experience in Air Navigation Services. As newly appointed director his main responsibilities will be the implementation of the FAB CE Strategy including programme planning and management. He will also be overseeing the common FAB CE project management, a vital corner stone in the efficient realization of FAB CE projects.

CEO Committee approved Framework Contract for the provision of FAB CE Program Support Services by FAB CE Aviation Services Limited

FAB CE ANSPs contracted their company FAB CE Aviation Services Ltd. with the provision of Program Support Services until end of 2016. Upon recognition of the FAB CE Aviation Services Ltd. as Contracting Authority the Call for Tender of FAB CE Program Support Office (PSO) was published on 23rd March 2015.

The publication is available in the Official Journal of the European Union:
http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:104144-2015:TEXT:EN:HTML&tabId=0

and on the Slovenian national portal of public procurement
http://www.enarocanje.si/?podrocje=pregledobjave&IzpObrazec=379992

Air navigation service providers of Functional Airspace Block Central Europe (FAB CE) and representatives of trade unions from the FAB CE region held their meeting on November 27, 2014 in Budapest, at the headquarters of HungaroControl Hungarian Air Navigation Services Pte.

The participants of the FAB CE Social Dialogue forum had a consultation about their views regarding SES II+, the common strategy of FAB CE, the tasks of the new FAB CE legal entity, the impact of the restriction in Ukrainian airspace, the opportunities to further improve the cooperation between European FABs as well as HR&TRN activities. The conference was co-chaired by Kornél Szepessy, current Chairman of FAB CE CEO Committee and CEO of HungaroControl, and by Alexander Rovina, air traffic controller of Austro Control representing the FAB CE Union Alliance.

The FAB CE Social Dialogue opens the door for ANSPs and representatives of air navigation services trade unions twice a year to consult about current issues affecting the airspace block. The forum serves as a great opportunity to transfer information and knowledge in a more structured way, to identify important challenges, to exchange opinions and to develop common positions.

‘The Social Dialogue framework is an important tool and platform for all of us since it is our common goal that FAB CE should become Europe’s most highly recognised functional airspace block.’ – said Kornél Szepessy, chairman of FAB CE CEOC, CEO of HungaroControl.

As one concrete result of the Forum ATCO Union participants expressed their agreement to the presented draft of a common Position Paper on ATCO Mobility. After the final decision of the CEOC it will be a tactile example and the result of the continuous dialogue between Social Partners in FAB CE.

During the meeting participants discussed several valid issues of FAB CE co-operation. The open discussion started on SES II+ legislative package of the European Commission – which led to important conclusions and messages including the view of the trade unions, that safety and capacity issues should be addressed in the new legislation. Based on aspects such as capacity overload the further development of Safety Management Systems (SMS) should be carried out with CEOC involvement at the highest level. The participants of FAB CE Social Dialogue forum also analysed the situation resulting from the restriction of the Ukrainian airspace, as well as its consequences and the options for managing the pressure on FAB CE air traffic controllers in terms of workload and responsibility.  

Union representatives were also given detailed information about the recently approved common strategy of FAB CE. The CEOC Chairman welcomed the initiative of unions to be continuously involved in the improvement of the next FAB CE Strategy update of 2015.
An overview of Performance Scheme Reference Period 2 (RP2 – 2015-2019) was also presented. Unions are certain on benefits for airlines stemming from actions taken towards cost efficiency and improvement of performance.

The presentation of the FAB CE Legal Entity (FABCE, Aviation Services, Ltd.) initiated an active exchange of views on the planned operation and the way of support for the implementation of FAB CE Programme. The conclusion of the last interFAB meeting was also on the agenda, namely that the operational experiences of the other FABs, the possible strengthening of relations and the potential for further common development create new opportunities for cooperation in the future.

Presentations:

Status SES2+
FAB CE Strategy
RP2 Targets
FAB CE Legal Entity
Inter FAB Cooperation
HR and Training