EUROCONTROL advances higher airspace operations in Europe

Demand for higher airspace is accelerating, from new aircraft operating at altitudes above FL500 and capable of week-long missions, to the fast-growing sector of the commercial space industry, which is seeing new spaceports emerging in the European region to meet the ever-growing global market for commercial space launches.

This is in turn driving the transformation of the European air traffic management (ATM) system, which needs to adapt quickly to include these new entrants in a safe and efficient manner, as well as play its part in securing a leading role both for its industries and operators. New aviation-space operational interfaces are therefore required to meet the new demands on air traffic safety and global contingency management created by launches and re-entries triggered by the rise in commercial space operations.

The need for a higher airspace operations (HAO) concept built into the foundations agreed by Member States and the EU for the Single European Sky was recognised early on by the European Commission, and saw EUROCONTROL called upon in April 2019 to take the lead of ECHO, the European Concept for Higher Airspace Operations. The ECHO consortium comprising leading European industry, organisations, institutes and research centres was tasked with ensuring safety while also being ambitious and innovative in delivering a higher airspace concept of operations (ConOps) that would lay the groundwork for future validation work and make Europe a driving force behind the global development of HAO.

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