The airspace of the six FABEC States of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland is one of the busiest and most complex in the world.
FABEC air navigation service providers (ANSPs) Belgocontrol, DFS, DSNA, LVNL and Skyguide signed an agreement to establish mandatory information areas (MIA). The objective of this project led by Maastricht UAC is to formalise bilateral and multilateral working arrangements between all FABEC ANSPs and their respective aeronautical information management (AIM) units for aeronautical data requiring coordination or information exchange. The aim is to avoid data inconsistencies between national datasets and the subsequent publication of non-harmonised data. The introduction of the AIM MIAs can be considered as an additional safety net.
In mandatory information areas, all data changes have to be coordinated with the partners concerned to maintain the required level of data consistency. Each provider defines an area in the neighbours' airspaces, specifying the need to be informed on planned data changes by the neighbours. This is based on a FABEC-wide harmonised dataset which has been built up over the last months and is to be completed before the end of this year. In a first step, the concept will be introduced for intra-FABEC boundaries. Later, after the signing of bilateral agreements, the AIM MIA concept will be extended to all States that share a border with a FABEC State.
FABEC AIM MIA configuration
The following types of information are considered to be ATM-relevant: airspace and airspace geometry; significant points; navigation aids; routes and route segments; aerodromes; procedures (SID/STAR/IAP) and COM frequencies of ATS units. The exchange has to be made as soon as it is sure that the information is reasonably consolidated, but no later than 64 days before the AIRAC effective date.
The airspace of the six FABEC States of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland is one of the busiest and most complex in the world. The majority of major European airports, major civil airways and military training areas are located in this area. FABEC airspace covers 1.7 million km² and handles about 5.5 million flights per year – 55% of European air traffic. The seven civil air navigation service providers are ANA (Luxembourg), Belgocontrol (Belgium), DFS (Germany), DSNA (France), LVNL (Netherlands), MUAC (EUROCONTROL), and skyguide (Switzerland).
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