EU-funded project to improve flights punctuality
The project, known as CATS - the Contract-Based Air Transportation System, was launched on 6th November in Vienna. This project is co-funded by the European Community within the 6th Framework Programme.
CATS’ main objective is to propose solutions to cope with traffic growth and to improve the efficiency of the European air transportation system. It is based on an innovative operational concept, the Contract of Objectives. The Contract of Objectives will provide well-defined objectives for each actor involved in a flight (air traffic controllers, aircrews, airports, airlines, air navigation service providers) and through the Contract of Objectives, a guarantee of results such as respect of punctuality is offered to the airspace users. These objectives represent the commitment from each actor to deliver a particular aircraft inside temporal and spatial intervals. Agreement over the Contract of Objectives is reached through a Collaborative Decision Making process (CDM) process, allowing for the right balance between productivity and safety.
The aim of the CATS project is to assess by experimental & operational validation the Contract of Objectives concept. This will be achieved by:
• Defining the interfaces between various actors and operators:
o Air Traffic Controllers (ATCO) in the airborne cycle
o ATCO and aircrew in the airborne cycle
o Airport, airline and Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) during the renegotiation process, in case of one contract of objectives is not fulfil;
• Assessing the operational acceptability and the technical feasibility, through Human In the Loop experiments
• Evaluating the impact of this contract in terms of Human Factor issues, safety and operators’ workload
• Evaluating the benefits and the legal implications.
The project is relevant to SESAR and proper co-ordination mechanisms have been established between the project and SESAR Program.
For more information visit the website:
http://www.eurocontrol.int/eec/cats(opens in new window) .For further information, please contact:
Christoph Rihacek , Project Coordinator
Tel +43-664-67181-3249, email:Christoph.RIHACEK@frequentis.com
Sandrine Guibert, Dissemination Leader
Tel +33 1 6988 7397, email: sandrine.guibert@eurocontrol.int