Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English en
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

European Concept of operations for Higher airspace Operations

Project description

Laying the foundations for safe and efficient upper airspace operations

In aviation, the upper information region refers to the area between the airspace normally occupied by aircraft and the beginning of airspace. New airspace users and operations are increasingly emerging in this higher region. The EU-funded ECHO project will help unleash the great potential of this new frontier for flight. In particular, it will deliver a comprehensive demand analysis and a concept of operation for higher airspace traffic management. The project's work on the definition of a concept of operations will feed into the ICAO global framework, ensuring a global harmonised approach for higher airspace operations. It will also constitute a foundation for the development of the future European higher airspace operation regulatory framework.

Objective

The Higher Airspace region is located between the airspace normally used by aircraft and the beginning of space. Higher airspace is no longer an exclusive transition zone, but an area where operations will be significantly expanded as a result of the emergence of a complete new aviation domain, business and technical opportunities and more, representing business values in the order billions per year. The anticipated operations in the Higher Airspace represent an emerging market like for the early days of aviation where providing rules, including structural procedures regarding traffic and operations management, is now considered as the key enabler of this international healthy business of $900b/y which worldwide connect people and civilisations.
The ECHO (European Concept of Higher airspace Operations) Project will deliver a comprehensive demand analysis and a comprehensive, innovative and feasible Concept of Operations enabling near term and future Higher Airspace operations in a safe and orderly manner.
The Higher Airspace including the operators forms a new, almost legacy free environment enabling an expeditions uptake of innovations or, extrapolated SESAR solutions. In this way the Higher Airspace could become an incubator environment for future ATM.
The ECHO project deliverables will also be instrumental in developing a Global performance based framework and will be the basis for the European Regulatory Framework. For this the project includes all the key European actors and includes extensive coordination and consultation activities, such as three large Thematic Work Shops, to ensure wide European Stakeholder buy-in and alignment with evolving European policies.

The project will pave the way for the economic development of various commercial concepts that will only be possible by using the Higher Airspace environment.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

RIA - Research and Innovation action

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

(opens in new window) H2020-SESAR-2019-2

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

EUROCONTROL - EUROPEAN ORGANISATION FOR THE SAFETY OF AIR NAVIGATION
Net EU contribution
€ 0,00
Address
Rue de la Fusée 96
1130 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgium
Region
Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Arr. de Bruxelles-Capitale/Arr. Brussel-Hoofdstad
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 844 682,50

Participants (11)