Security in the air: EUROCONTROL takes action
by Victor M. AGUADO

EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, has 30 Member States. Founded in 1960 for overseeing air traffic control in the upper airspace of its six founding Member States, EUROCONTROL today has as its most important goal the development of a pan-European air traffic system. Highly qualified staff, numbering around 2,000 and based in seven European countries, are working on these tasks:

• The implementation of the European Air Traffic Management Programme on behalf of the 38 States belonging to the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC)
  
  
• The operation of the Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) so as to make optimal use of European airspace and to prevent air traffic congestion
  
  
• Research and development work aimed at increasing air traffic capacity and enhancing air safety in Europe
  
  
• The collection of Route Charges on behalf of Member States and through bilateral agreements with non-Member States
  
  
• The provision of Air Traffic Services through the management of regional Air Traffic Control Centres
  
  
• The provision of training and the transfer of knowledge in the field of air traffic management.

Member States

Safety and Security

Since 11 September 2001, safety and security issues have been inextricably linked for aviation. Although EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, is primarily concerned with air traffic management matters – placing particular emphasis on safety – the security aspects of air navigation are progressively taking on more importance.

EUROCONTROL is working closely with the European Civil Aviation Conference, ECAC, on Air Traffic Management security issues. It has also participated in the European Commission’s ad hoc Aviation Security Group and contributed to papers presented to the Council of Europe. EUROCONTROL will also deliver a paper at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)’s Ministerial Conference on Aviation Security in Montréal in February, 2002.

Security can be broadly divided into two main aspects. Firstly, there is prevention. Secondly, there is crisis management itself. Both depend heavily on information flows that are accurate, accessible and available in sufficient quantities.

Immense effort is being devoted to prevention – by States, airports and airlines. The collective response to limit terrorist activity was instant and powerful, but it will have to be sustained in order to be effective. Reliable information, available when needed, is essential here and it is highly likely that Passenger Profiling will prove to be one of the most useful security tools in the future.

Crisis management in the air transport domain is more the area in which we at EUROCONTROL can make a contribution. In our field, we believe that a properly run, properly planned and coordinated air traffic management system can make all the difference when coping with air transport crises. But we are also laying concrete plans for helping aircraft in distress.

A flight in crisis: three stages

In a situation in which the security and safety of a flight are threatened, there are, as a rule, three consecutive phases:

• Identification of the problem


• Gathering information about the incident


• Intervention, hopefully leading to the resolution of the crisis.

Identification of the problem

In a crisis situation, it is imperative to know first of all, exactly where the aircraft is. Information on the aircraft’s position can be provided by radar, either primary and/or secondary. The ability to merge data from civil and military air traffic control radar, together with air defence information, would enhance aircraft tracking and minimise the risk of not being able to pinpoint an aircraft’s position. Unfortunately, military radar data is not always made accessible to their civil counterparts.

EUROCONTROL can help here in two ways. Firstly, we are establishing processes to optimise the sharing of civil Air Traffic Control (ATC) and military (ATC/Air Defence) radar information. Secondly, we are creating a European Regional Focal Point for Air Traffic Management information, one that reflects both civil and military interests.

EUROCONTROL is ideally placed to co-ordinate between civil and military as it has been involved in air traffic management arrangements for both parties. Military Liaison Officers are permanently stationed at EUROCONTROL’s headquarters and a Civil and Military Interface Standing Committee (CMIC), dedicated to civil-military co-ordination, is one of the Organisation’s official bodies.

Information during a crisis

Aircraft crises can be better managed if reliable information about what is happening on board is provided to security forces and air traffic control. Spread spectrum technology could support the real time transmission of flight deck and cabin video, flight deck voice recorder data, and even crash recorder data.

Together with the United States, EUROCONTROL is working on this new technology. Our main aim here is to validate high capacity air-ground communications capability for the transmission of encrypted cockpit voice, flight data and on-board video information.

We are also looking at other areas: for instance, we are investigating the automatic switching of the SSR (Secondary Surveillance Radar) transponder to alarm mode in a crisis situation. We are also examining ways of inhibiting the neutralisation of the SSR transponder while in flight and researching better, more discreet ways for aircrews to trigger emergency devices.

Intervention

Effective intervention relies heavily on procedures. Approved civil and military procedures to be followed during a hijack situation are already in place. Recent events have shown, however, that many pilots need retraining in interception manoeuvres. This drawback will doubtless be resolved over time.

This fact notwithstanding, a common pan-European procedure, which includes both, civil and military air traffic control would make for a distinct improvement. EUROCONTROL is working on a prototype procedure of this kind and intends to work on revised military Rules of Engagement in conjunction with the appropriate bodies.

But in times of crisis, a single focal point is needed. EUROCONTROL’s Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU), which organises traffic flows before aircraft take off, is ideally suited to this role for air transport. Indeed, it proved its mettle in this area during the events of 11 September and their aftermath.

Briefly, this is what the CFMU did: immediately upon receiving the notification that US airspace had been closed, each European Air Traffic Control Centre, flow management position, control tower and 250 aircraft operators were informed. Within just five minutes, each flight scheduled to depart to the United States was prevented from leaving. Those aircraft in mid-flight were either diverted to safe landing places or returned to their original airports.

The CFMU then rationed available capacity, preventing other flights from taking off in order to accommodate the returning aircraft. Some operators did not heed these instructions and the CFMU was called in to intervene in these cases.

Some special military flights had to fly into US airspace and the CFMU co-ordinated these, as well as ensuring that all military aircraft on standby at American bases in Europe could leave in safety should it have proved necessary.

Over the next few days, the CFMU adjusted the traffic flows to the gradual opening of oceanic airspace. In order to ensure compliance with the new arrangements, the CFMU filtered each flight plan received, singling out those, which had filed to fly in domestic US airspace. Each aircraft operator was then contacted individually and instructed to reroute the flight.

Working side by side with the FAA, military authorities and aircraft operators’ representatives, the CFMU was able to ensure that in spite of the disruption caused by the extraordinary situation, there were no repercussions on the general safety of air transport. Given the circumstances, it was no mean achievement.

We feel that the CFMU could become a permanent focal point in times of crisis, overseeing the implementation of any necessary contingency measures in European airspace and using real-time tools under development.

As a result, we are in the process of establishing a dedicated cell in the CFMU Operations Room, which could be activated when needed. This Cell would be responsible for uniting all the key players needed to resolve the situation as rapidly as possible.

In Conclusion

Naturally, in all of these security measures, EUROCONTROL will not work in isolation. Our relations with ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, are of the closest. We are also working in tandem with ECAC, the European Commission, the Council of Europe and NATO (the North-Atlantic Treaty Organisation) in the development of effective security mechanisms.

For security matters affect every one of us: each citizen is potentially at risk, no matter where they are. Air travel, although the safest means of transport available, has been gravely affected by the recent terrorist activity. EUROCONTROL, with the backing of its 40 years’ civil and military experience, is determined to do its utmost to make sure that air passengers are, once again, as safe and secure in flight as it is possible for them to be.