Resilience
Building a robust framework to guarantee air traffic services

The COVID-19 pandemic showed that European ATM can meet the challenge of securing ongoing operations and maintain critical infrastructure. However, an unprecedented fall in traffic can occur for many reasons and planning for such an eventuality is important for the whole industry. The European way of financing air traffic control results in cyclical patterns, for example when the sector is in crisis ATC charges increase and when the sector is on a growth path, charges decrease. The existing EU Performance and Charging scheme is not designed to withstand external shocks or the increase in traffic volatility experienced in recent years.

Building a more resilient framework that will ensure Europe’s critical airspace infrastructure continues to operate during times of extreme pressure is the subject of FABEC research, expert talks and workshops. These consider aspects including an examination of the guiding principles behind resilient air traffic management, identifying appropriate indices to improve forecasting, recognising the increasing importance of the environment, and reviewing industry economic value models.