Communication from the Commission to the Council and to the European Parliament - The air traffic management master plan (the ATM master plan)
Date: 2008-11-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: air safety, air space, air traffic, air traffic control, air transport, common transport policy, joint venture

EN 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 14.11.2008 
COM(2008) 750 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND TO THE 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

THE AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT MASTER PLAN 
(THE ATM MASTER PLAN) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND TO THE 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

THE AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT MASTER PLAN 
(THE ATM MASTER PLAN) 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION  

The  ATM  Master  Plan  provides  the  roadmap  for  the  development  and  deployment 
phases  of  the  SESAR  programme  which  constitutes  the  technological  pillar  of  the 
Single  European  Sky  policy.  SESAR  aims  at  developing  the  new  generation  air 
traffic management system capable of ensuring safety and efficiency of air transport 
throughout Europe over the next 30 years. 

This  Communication  aims  first  at  supporting  the  Council's  endorsement  of  the 
SESAR Master Plan as the initial ATM Master Plan. As requested by the Council, it 
includes  an  assessment  of  the  SESAR  Master  Plan  with  a  specific  focus  on 
environment  and  risk  management1.  This  endorsement  is  a  prerequisite  to  the 
adoption of the ATM Master Plan by the Administrative Board of the SESAR Joint 
Undertaking2.  

Second,  recognising  the  ATM  Master  Plan  as  an  evolving  document3,  this 
communication presents the process for updating the ATM Master Plan. This process 
confirms  the  pivotal  role  of  the  SESAR  Joint  Undertaking  and  its  Administrative 
board in managing the ATM Master Plan while ensuring that any significant change 
follows a formal process through which the Member States will continue to exercise 
their control4. 

2. 

THE ATM MASTER PLAN 

2.1. 

Building on the SESAR definition phase 

The  SESAR  definition  phase  has  been  co-funded  by  the  Community  and 
Eurocontrol. It has been carried out by the SESAR Consortium established through a 
contractual  agreement  joining  the  forces  and  expertise  from  all  relevant  ATM 
stakeholders.  The  SESAR  Consortium  represented  a  unique  initiative,  bringing 
together the best European expertise in the field of ATM.  

1 
2 
3 
4 

Council Resolution on SESAR development adopted on 9th October 2008, articles 5 and 9 
Council Regulation No 219/2007 of 27 February 2007, article 5.1 
Council Resolution on SESAR development adopted on 9th October 2008, article 6 
Council Resolution on SESAR development adopted on 9th October 2008, article 7 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
The definition phase of SESAR has produced a series of deliverables setting the basis 
for  developing  and  implementing  the  new  ATM  concept,  addressing  R&D  and 
validation activities followed by coordinated deployment5.  

Amongst the deliverables from the SESAR definition phase, the SESAR Master Plan 
stands  as  the  cornerstone,  integrating  the  areas  of  performance  improvements,  the 
elements of the ATM target concept, as well as the cost benefit analysis, and laying 
down  the  roadmap  for  the  implementation  of  the  operational  improvements  into  a 
coherent  SESAR  work  programme.  Therefore,  it  is  the  SESAR  Master  Plan  the 
Commission proposes to endorse as the initial ATM Master Plan.  

2.2. 

The SESAR Master Plan 

2.2.1.  Objectives  

At the highest level, the SESAR Master Plan defines how to develop and deploy the 
new  ATM  system  supporting  the  new  ATM  concept  required  to  significantly 
contribute to the overall Single European Sky policy objectives. 

2.2.2.  The new ATM concept 

SESAR  contributions  to  the  overall  Single  Sky  objectives  will  come  as  the  result 
from  a  completely  new  approach  to  air  traffic  management  known  as  the  SESAR 
concept of operation6. Key features are: 

(1)  Moving from airspace to trajectory based operations, so that each aircraft 

achieves its preferred route and time of arrival.  

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

Collaborative  planning  so  that  all  parties  involved  in  flight  management 
from  departure  gate  to  arrival  gate  can  plan  their  activities  based  on  the 
performance the system will deliver7.  

Dynamic  airspace  management  through  enhanced  co-ordination  between 
civil and military authorities.  

New  technologies  providing  more  accurate  airborne  navigation  and 
optimised  spacing  between  aircraft  to  maximise  airspace  and  airports 
capacity.  New  technologies  will  be  embedded  into  a  harmonised  and 
interoperable  technical  architecture  whilst  supporting  the  needs  of  all 
European regions 

5 

6 

7 

The 6 main deliverables from the SESAR definition phase are: D1- The Air Transport Framework (ref. 
V3.0, July 2006); D2- The Performance Target (ref. DLM-0607-001-02-00a, December 2006); D3- The 
ATM Target Concept (ref. DLM-0612-001-02-00a, September 2007); D4- The Deployment Sequence 
(ref. DLM-0706-001-02-00, January 2008); D5- SESAR Master Plan (ref. DLM-0710-001-02-00, April 
2008);  D6-  Work  Programme  for  2008-2013  (ref.  DLM-0710-002-02-00,  April  2008);  they  can  be 
downloaded at https://www.atmmasterplan.eu 
Concept of operation is a detailed description of how an operational concept is applied. It identifies the 
functions and processes, and their corresponding interactions and information flows; concerned actors, 
their roles and responsibilities 
Collaborative planning will be underpinned by a System Wide Information System (SWIM) providing 
relevant up-to-date information to all parties involved 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
                                                 
(5) 

Central  role  for  the  human,  widely  supported  by  advanced  tools  to  work 
safely and without undue pressure.  

2.2.3.  The way forward: Implementation Packages and Service Levels 

The  SESAR  Master  Plan  is  composed  of  three  Implementation  Packages  made  of 
two Service Levels each. Annex A provides more information about Implementation 
Packages and Service Levels. 

2.3. 

SESAR Master Plan assessment 

The  Commission  considers  the  outcome  of  the  SESAR  definition  phase  as  today's 
most  reliable  basis  to  lay  down  the  foundations  for  the  coming  development  and 
deployment phases of the SESAR programme.  

However,  the  outcome  of  the  SESAR  definition  phase  cannot  be  considered  as  the 
final plan. The development phase is now taking over from the definition phase8 and 
shall  result  in  the  validation  of  new  technologies  to  improve  performances  and 
services, consolidating the ATM Master Plan. Therefore, the ATM Master Plan is, by 
nature, a living document. 

The following paragraphs are aiming at providing an overview of themes which are 
expected to be further consolidated during the development phase.  

2.3.1.  Achieving societal goals 

In 2005, the Commission has stated the political vision and high level goals for the 
Single European Sky and its technological pillar:  

•  Enable  a  3-fold  increase  in  capacity  which  will  also  reduce  delays,  both  on  the 

ground and in the air; 

•  Improve the safety performance by a factor of 10; 

•  Enable a 10% reduction in the effects flights have on the environment and; 

•  Provide ATM services to the airspace users at a cost of at least 50% less. 

The definition phase of SESAR has concluded that ATM can significantly contribute 
to reaching these goals. SESAR is now targeting for 20209: 

•  73% increase in capacity from 2004; 

8 
9 

According to the Council Resolution on SESAR development adopted on 9 October 2008, article 4 
SESAR D5 - SESAR Master Plan (ref. DLM-0710-001-02-00, April 2008) §2.1.1; The achievement of 
theses  performances  will  be  assessed  against  key  performance  indicators  defined  for  the  SESAR 
programme and derived from the ICAO standards. Examples: Annual IFR flight in Europe (capacity); 
total  annual  en-route  (cost  effectiveness);  scheduled  flights  departing  on  time  (efficiency).  There  are 
other  Key  Performance  Indicators  to  assess  flexibility,  predictability,  safety  and  environmental 
sustainability (see D5 §2.1) 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
                                                 
•  Associated  improvement  in  safety  so  that  the  total  number  of  ATM  induced 
accidents  and  serious  or  risk  bearing  incidents  will  not  increase  despite  traffic 
growth; 

•  10% reduction per flight in environmental impact compared to 2005; and 

•  50% reduction in cost per flight compared to 2004. 

The  SESAR  contribution  to  the  societal  goals  set  by  the  Commission  shall  be 
continuously reviewed by the SESAR Joint Undertaking and kept up to date through 
the future versions of the ATM Master Plan.  

2.3.2.  Environment 

With  two  major  objectives  in  the  environmental  fields,  the  SESAR  programme 
reflects  the  growth  of  the  environmental  pressure  and  of  its  importance  within  the 
ATM community. These objectives are: 

•  To  achieve  emission  improvements.  The  SESAR  target  for  2020  is  to  achieve 
10%  fuel  savings  per  flight  as  a  result  of  ATM  improvements  alone,  thereby 
enabling a 10% reduction of gas emissions per flight;  

•  To improve the management of noise emissions and their impacts: to ensure 

that these are minimized for each flight to the greatest extent possible;  

Should  the  development  phase  conclude  that  ATM  improvements  on  their  own 
cannot  fulfil  the  above  objectives,  the  adequate  coordination  between  SESAR  and 
Clean  Sky10  would  allow  for  the  necessary  trade-offs  between  the  two  initiatives, 
ensuring  that,  summing  up  their  respective  contributions,  the  environmental 
objectives  would  remain  within  reach.  Any  evolution  in  respect  to  the  expected 
SESAR  contribution  to  reducing  environmental  impact  of  air  transport  shall  be 
reflected in the future versions of the ATM Master Plan.  

2.3.3. 

Interoperability and standardisation 

Interoperability is key to the success SESAR. Airspace users have clearly expressed 
their need to fly throughout the world with a single airborne equipment interoperable 
with any ground ATM system: SESAR in Europe, Nextgen in the United-States and 
any extension of theses two systems or any equivalent technological initiative in the 
other regions of the world11. 

Interoperability  requires  internationally  agreed  standards  and  norms.  The  SESAR 
development  phase  will  deliver  the  technical  ground  for  defining  them.  A 
standardisation roadmap shall be developed and kept up to date as a specific chapter 
of  the  ATM  Master  Plan.  It  will  allow  ATM  stakeholders  to  anticipate  and 

10 

11 

EN 

impact  of  air 

Clean Sky is a Joint Technology Initiative that will develop breakthrough technologies to significantly 
improve 
information  available  at 
the 
http://www.cleansky.eu 
Outcome  of  the  ICAO  Forum  on  Integration  and  Harmonization  of  NextGen  and  SESAR  into  the 
Global ATM Framework, held in Montreal from 8 to 10 September 2008 

the  environment.  More 

transport  on 

5 

   EN 

 
                                                 
coordinate  their  efforts  to  ease  the  adoption  of  SESAR  technical  proposals  as 
standards and norms by the relevant standardisation bodies. 

2.3.4.  Deployment 

The  deployment  phase  of  SESAR  consists  of  a  succession  of  three  Implementation 
Packages  coming  with  Operational  Improvements.  Implementation  Packages 
deployment  shall  be  supported  by  existing  Community 
framework 
(Implementing  Rules  and  Community  Specifications).  This  will  form  a  regulatory 
roadmap  to  be  developed  by  the  Commission  and  kept  consistent  with  the  ATM 
Master Plan. 

legal 

Findings from the development phase as well as evolutions of the ATM stakeholders' 
needs  require  a  continuous  assessment  of  these  Implementation  Packages  with  the 
objective to consolidate the buy-in for all stakeholders. 

Today,  Implementation  Package  1  is  at  stake.  It  delivers  the  baseline  on  which  the 
subsequent  Packages  will  build.  The  Operational  Improvements  it  includes  will  be 
reviewed  to  guarantee  they  meet  the  most  urgent  expectations.  Evolutions  of 
Implementation Package 1 shall be captured through the updates of the ATM Master 
Plan. 

2.3.5.  Business case 

The work of the SESAR definition phase in establishing the initial business case and 
cost benefit analysis must be continuously reviewed in the light of the evolutions of 
the  ATM  Master  Plan.  Moreover,  an  assessment  of  specific  financing  mechanisms 
for Implementation Package 1 is still required12. Specific business cases for military, 
unmanned aircraft, general aviation, business aviation, including very light jets, and 
helicopters also need to be developed. 

Consolidation  of  the  overall  SESAR  business  case  and  development  of  specific 
business  cases  will  have  to  be  reflected  in  the  future  versions  of  the  ATM  Master 
Plan. 

2.3.6.  Risk management  

The Council has invited the Commission to ensure that the Joint Undertaking puts in 
place a risk management process13. The SESAR Master Plan provides the basis for 
this risk management process with an early identification of the high level risks and 
associated mitigation actions. 

With respect to service delivery, the high level risks are: 

•  The lack of homogeneity when deploying Implementation Package 1; 

•  The  lack  of  governance  in  the  deployment  phase  leading  to  unsuccessful 

deployment of Implementation Packages 2 and 3; 

12 
13 

Non repayable grants, deferral of the depreciation charges, financial incentives 
Council Resolution on SESAR development adopted on 9th October 2008, article 9 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
                                                 
•  The lack of investment into SESAR by the key stakeholders; 

•  Failure and/or delays to develop or validate the advanced technologies required to 

support the new ATM concept; 

•  Failure  and/or  delays  to  implement  the  System  Wide  Information  Management 

system. 

With respect to institutional and management issues, the high level risks are: 

•  The  insufficient  support  from  the  regulatory  framework  to  the  deployment 

process; 

•  The failure to manage human resources in time of changes; 

•  The absence or late defragmentation of the European airspace. 

In order to efficiently manage these risks, more than 40 mitigation actions have been 
identified, out of which more than 25 have already been undertaken with significant 
risks  reduction  expected  since  200914.  Each  update  of  the  ATM  Master  Plan  shall 
include a review of the high priority risks and associated mitigation actions. 

2.4. 

Endorsing the SESAR Master Plan as the ATM Master Plan 

In  the  light  of  the  above  assessment,  the  Commission  proposes  the  Council  to 
endorse the SESAR Master Plan as the ATM Master Plan15. The endorsement of the 
SESAR Master Plan as the initial ATM Master Plan does not imply commitment of 
Member States further than the ones stated in the Council Resolution on the launch 
of the development phase of the SESAR programme16. 

3. 

ATM MASTER PLAN MANAGEMENT 

As  the  Master  Plan  is  an  evolving  document,  the  process  to  adopt  its  future 
updates  shall  be  agreed.  This  is  even  more  important  because  updates  of  the  ATM 
Master  Plan  shall  be  adopted  by  the  Administrative  Board  of  the  SESAR  Joint 
Undertaking17.  

3.1. 

Towards the first adoption of the ATM Master Plan  

The whole process starts with the Council's endorsement of the SESAR Master Plan 
as the initial ATM Master Plan. Then, the following steps shall be followed: 

14 
15 

16 
17 

SESAR D5 - SESAR Master Plan (ref. DLM-0710-001-02-00, April 2008) §5 
As  required  by  article  1.2  of  the  Council  Regulation  No  219/2007  of  27  February  2007  on  the 
establishment of the SESAR Joint Undertaking 
Council Resolution on SESAR development adopted on 9th October 2008 
Council Regulation No 219/2007 of 27 February 2007, Annex article 5.1.a 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
                                                 
•  The Commission communicates the ATM Master Plan to the European Parliament 

for its information18; 

•  The Commission informs the SESAR Joint Undertaking about the endorsement of 

the ATM Master Plan; 

•  The  Administrative  Board  adopts  the  ATM  Master  Plan  previously  endorsed  by 

the Council19.  

3.2. 

ATM Master Plan lifecycle 

With  the  adoption  of  the  ATM  Master  Plan  by  the  Administrative  Board,  the  Joint 
Undertaking shall obtain the required basis to set up its work programme.  

The ATM Master Plan then enters into its regular lifecycle where the SESAR Joint 
Undertaking  is  in  charge  of  managing  the  ATM  Master  Plan.  Each  time  a 
significant20  update  of  the  ATM  Master  Plan  is  ready  for  examination  by  the 
Administrative Board21, the following steps shall be followed:  

•  When a significant change of the ATM Master Plan is ready for examination by 
the  Administrative  Board,  it  is  forwarded  to  all  its  members,  including  the 
Commission.  

•  The update of the ATM Master Plan, as proposed by SESAR Joint Undertaking, 
shall  be  presented  by  the  Commission  to  the  Single  Sky  Committee  aiming  at 
adoption  of  a  Community  position  on  this  proposal22.  Through  this  consultation 
that  the  Member  States  continue  to  exercise  their  control  over  the  ATM  Master 
Plan and its execution. 

•  The Community position shall be voiced by the Commission at the Administrative 

Board when voting the adoption of an update of the ATM Master Plan23. 

4. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ATM MASTER PLAN 

The SESAR Joint Undertaking is in charge of implementing the ATM Master Plan24. 

The Commission shall provide the Council and the European Parliament with regular 
reports on the progress of the JU in implementing the ATM Master Plan25. 

18 
19 
20 

21 

22 

23 
24 

Council Regulation No 219/2007 of 27 February 2007, article 1.3 
Council regulation No 219/2007 of 27 February 2007, annex article 5.1.a 
A significant change means a change that has an impact on investments (costs), performance (benefits) 
or timescales. Non significant changes are dealt with by the SESAR Joint Undertaking internally. The 
process to be applied for non significant updates is out of the scope of this Communication 
As part of its work programme, the SESAR Joint Undertaking has developed a work-package fully 
dedicated to ATM Master Plan maintenance (WP C). This work-package is compliant with the high 
level processes described in the present Communication 
Council Regulation No 219/2007 of 27 February 2007, article 5.4 and Council Decision No 
1999/468/CE of 28 June 1999 
Council Regulation No 219/2007 of 27 February 2007, Annex article 4.6 
Council Regulation No 219/2007 of 27 February 2007, article 1.5 and Council Resolution on SESAR 
development adopted on 9th October 2008, article 9 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
                                                 
The  Commission  shall  also  monitor  the  consistency  with  the  ICAO  Global 
Implementation Plan. 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

The  ATM  Master  Plan  is  a  key  element  for  the  implementation  of  the  Single 
European  Sky.  Its  endorsement  will  accelerate  the  urgently  required  technological 
evolution of the present ATM systems to support the new SESAR ATM concept and 
its key contributions to the societal goals of the Single European Sky. 

The Commission invites the Council to endorse the SESAR Master Plan as the initial 
ATM Master Plan together with the procedure for updating the ATM Master Plan. 

25 

Council Regulation No 219/2007 of 27 February 2007, article 3 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
                                                                                                                                                         
ANNEX A 

THE ATM MASTER PLAN OVERVIEW:  
SESAR IMPLEMENTATION PACKAGES AND SERVICE LEVELS 

The  overall  plan  for  the  development  and  deployment  of  SESAR  and  its 
corresponding network is illustrated in Figure 1 below.  

Figure 1 - Master Plan Overview 

Services levels 0 to 5 are shortly described in the table below. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
 
 
Service levels 

0 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

Key 
achievements 

Rolling out 
best 
practises 

Preparing 
trajectory 
based 
operations 

Implementing 
net-centric 
trajectory 
management 

Achieving 
advanced 
automation 
on a shared 
trajectory 
environment 

Extending 
operations 
with 
advanced 
separation 
modes 

Accommodating 
full 4 dimension 
trajectory 
management 
based on user 
preferred routes 

Key dates26 

Now / 
2012 

2009 / 2013 

2013 / 2019 

2017 / 2020 

2020/2025 

From 2025 

Examples of 
operational 
improvements27 

Continuous 
descent 
approach 

Interactive 
rolling network 
operations plan 

Flexible air 
traffic control 
sectors 

Manual user 
driven 
prioritisation 
process 

Arrival/departure 
management 
integration 

Airborne traffic 
awareness in 
flight and on 
ground 

Airborne and on 
ground traffic 
separation 

Improved low 
visibility 
procedure 

Continuous 
climb 
departure 

Initial data-
link 

Automatic 
flight 
conformance 
monitoring 

Basic 
departure 
management 

Arrival 
management 

Ground based 
safety nets 

Runway 
occupancy 
time 
optimisation 
techniques 

Full set of 
complexity 
management 
tools 

Airborne 
spacing, 
sequencing and 
merging 

2 dimension 
precision 
trajectory 
clearances on 
pre-defined 
routes 

Automatic 
surface 
movement 
planning and 
routing 

Separation 
adjustment based 
on wake vortex 
detection 

Dynamic 
terminal areas 
and flexible 
military areas 

Dynamic air 
traffic flow 
management 
using reference 
business 
trajectory 

Dynamic 
reference 
business 
trajectory 
revision using 
data-link 

2 dimension 
precision 
trajectory 
clearances on 
user preferred 
routes 

3 dimension 
precision 
trajectory 
clearances on 
pre-defined 
routes 

Dynamic mobile 
areas 

Real time adaptation 
of air traffic control 
sectors 

Aircraft spacing self 
adjustment based on 
wake vortex 
detection 

Delegation of the 
separation 1 to 
several aircraft 

4 dimension 
precision trajectory 
clearances on user 
preferred routes 

Free routing 
outside terminal 
areas 

3 dimension 
precision 
trajectory 
clearances on 
user preferred 
routes 

Delegation of 
the separation 1 
to 1 aircraft for 
crossing/passing 
manoeuvres 

Advanced safety 
nets with full 
compatibility 
between ground 
based and 
airborne tools 

Use of synthetic 
vision in low 
visibility 
conditions 

Full set of 
advanced 
controllers tools  

Remotely 
controlled 
aerodrome 

Automatic 
airborne 
separation 

Table 1: overview of SESAR service levels 0 to 5 

26 

27 

Two dates are presented for each service level. The first date means some features of the service level 
are available in some specific areas. The second date means full service level is available in most areas. 
Refer to SESAR D5 - SESAR Master Plan (ref. DLM-0710-001-02-00, April 2008) §3 for full list of 
operational improvements arranged by lines of changes 

EN 

11 

   EN