CEATS programme hampered by unwillingness of some participants to continue with traffic control initiative
Eurocontrol could be forced to scale down its plans for a unified central European upper airspace centre, after admitting that three of the eight original participating states are reluctant to continue involvement in the programme.
The proposed joint Central European Air Traffic Services (CEATS) centre is supposed to oversee control of upper airspace over eight countries, but the programme has been beset by political wrangling since an agreement to develop the centre was drawn up in 1997.
At least five of the eight countries had to ratify this crucial agreement to clear the way for progress on the centre, and this was achieved in July 2004 when Bosnia signed behind Austria, Hungary, Italy and the Czech Republic.
Vienna International airport’s business park, near Fischamend, is the proposed site for the CEATS centre. But the distribution of other related institutions – the simulation centre in Hungary, training division in Italy, and the strategy unit in the Czech Republic – is indicative of the political sensitivity that the project has faced.
While representatives of the eight states agreed in April last year to press ahead with the programme, despite several outstanding issues, Eurocontrol has indicated that it might have to implement CEATS on a smaller scale.
Eurocontrol director general Victor Aguado stresses that the consolidation of core European airspace is “still a valid objective”, but adds: “It’s difficult to consolidate the airspace of two states. With eight, it’s exponentially more difficult.”
Although he indicates that options are being assessed to achieve the desired consolidation, Aguado will not be drawn on the specific implications for CEATS.
But Eurocontrol admits that, while the operational concept remains in place, three of the eight CEATS states are losing interest in the programme. Eurocontrol will not identify these countries, but says that one is among the five that have already ratified the CEATS agreement – potentially creating uncertainty about where this might leave the accord. But the organisation points out that one of the three states yet to ratify the agreement – Slovenia, Slovakia and Croatia – is still interested in participating.
“It’s a ‘one out, one in’ situation,” says Eurocontrol. “We might have to start with a smaller number of states.”
It says, however, that the programme remains compatible with the objectives of the Single European Sky initiative, a central part of which involves combining sections of airspace into functional blocks controlled by fewer air traffic services providers.
DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW / LONDON
Source: Flight International
