Eurocontrol

EUROCONTROL is the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. Founded in 1963, it is an international organisation working for seamless, pan-European air traffic management. EUROCONTROL is a civil organisation and currently has 39 member states; its headquarters are in Brussels.

EUROCONTROL coordinates and plans air traffic control for all of Europe. This involves working with national authorities, air navigation service providers, civil and military airspace users, airports, and other organizations. Its activities involve all gate-to-gate air navigation service operations: strategic and tactical flow management, controller training, regional control of airspace, safety-proofed technologies and procedures, and collection of air navigation charges.

Functions and Centres

EUROCONTROL provides a set of different services:

• Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) - coordinates flight plans and actual traffic.
• European AIS Database (EAD) - centralized access to AIS information.
• Central Route Charges Office (CRCO) - collects en-route (and aerodrome approach) charges on behalf of the ANSPs.
• Eurocontrol Experimental Centre (EEC) - ATM research, simulations, etc.
• Central European Air Traffic Services (CEATS) - research, development and simulation centre, and air traffic management research, simulations, etc.
• Institute of Air Navigation Services (IANS) - training and e-learning.
• Projects.
• Eurocontrol Safety Regulatory Requirement (ESARRs) - basis requirements for certification and designation according to EC regulation 2096/2005.
• Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC)

Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre

EUROCONTROL's Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC), located at Maastricht Aachen Airport, provides air traffic control for traffic above 24,500 ft over Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and north-west Germany. A DFS unit, controlling military air traffic over the north-west of Germany, is co-located with the civil facilities. It started operations in 1972.^[1]

It is the second busiest Area Control Centre (ACC) in Europe, after London.

MUAC has put in operation innovative technology and productivity enhancements: a new generation Flight Data Processing System^[2], the Short Term Conflict Alert (STCA), Medium Term Conflict Detection (MTCD), Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) and stripless controller working positions.

Typically, air traffic control sectors at MUAC can handle 50 or more flights per hour. The average flight duration is approximately 18 minutes and typically 60% of the traffic is climbing from or descending to the major European airports of London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Berlin.

Regulatory responsibilities

EUROCONTROL has been delegated parts of the Single European Sky regulations by the European Commission.

Membership

EUROCONTROL and ECAC members:

Notable non-members;

• Estonia (EU and ECAC member)
• Azerbaijan (ECAC member but outside EU)
• Georgia (ECAC member but outside EU)
• Iceland (ECAC member but outside EU)

See also

• Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption
• Controlled and Harmonised Aeronautical Information Network (CHAIN)
• European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
• European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC)
• European Cockpit Association
• European Common Aviation Area (ECAA)
• List of the busiest airports in Europe by passenger traffic
• Single European sky
• SKYbrary

References

1. ^ Eurocontrol. "Eurocontrol MUAC / About Us". http://www.eurocontrol.int/muac/public/standard_page/AboutUs.html. Retrieved 2010-02-06. 
2. ^ MUAC'S New generation FDPS

External links

• Official site
• History of EUROCONTROLPDF (375 KiB)
• SKYbrary: The single point of reference in the network of aviation safety knowledge
• "Being in control at Eurocontrol", article in Crossroads by Rinnie Oey
• Executive Overview: Jane's Air Traffic Control