Navigating the future Avinor

NAVIGATING THE FUTURE

The state-run company Avinor is responsible for planning, developing and operating the Norwegian airport network, as well as operating air traffic control towers and control centres. Recently, as Industry Europe discovers, it has also been making advances in aircraft navigation systems.

Avinor was established as a state-run company in 2003 to develop and operate Norway’s airport network, administered by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Today it operates 46 airports in Norway, 12 of which are run in cooperation with the country’s armed forces. These include large airports such as Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim.

Recent efficiency improvements have meant that the year 2011 has been Avinor’s most successful yet. A total of 44,275,213 passengers travelled through its airports last year, which was four million more than in 2010 and in fact constitutes a record for the company.

In addition to planning, developing and operating the Norwegian airport network, Avinor operates air traffic control towers and control centres. It also has a wholly owned subsidiary, Oslo Lufthavn AS, which operates the main airport at Gardermoen.

Advances in air navigation

Another growing area for Avinor is the development of infrastructure for aircraft navigation. Its Air Navigation Services Division is divided into two main areas: Air Traffic Management and ATM/CNS Systems (or ‘Air Traffic Managment/Communication, Navigation and Surveillance Systems’). The first of these is responsible for providing air traffic services within Norwegian aerospace, as well as designated parts of the North Atlantic airspace, for both civilian and military operators. It is divided into five business units, including the meteorological services. The second main area, ATM/ CNS systems, is responsible for the installation and management of ATM/CNS equipment to the Air Traffic Management division and to 52 aerodromes in Norway.

In March last year (2011), the company became the first air navigation services provider to deploy the new arrival route system know as Point Merge System (PMS) over the eastern Norwegian airspace. This advanced new system gives both pilots and air traffic controllers a greater degree of predictability when the aircraft is approaching the airport. The system works by determining the order of aircraft to descend into the airport once they have reached the meeting point, or ‘Point Merge’. It is expected that this system will also be used for the airspace above Dublin, Munich, Brussels, Paris, Rome and Vienna in the near future.

Avinor has been preparing for the implementation of this new system as far back as January 2010, when it began the extensive training of its personnel at its Røyken control centre. It is estimated that each air traffic controller employed by Avinor completed 40–50 hours on a simulator before the system was actively deployed.

In addition to offering far greater efficiency in terms of aerospace navigation, according to Avinor the new system can also provide an average reduction in CO2 emissions of 300kg per flight. This is because with the new system the aircraft engines are able to practically idle as it descends to the runway, as opposed to the old system where the pilot had to employ full use of the throttle at every stage of the aircraft’s descent.

Reducing environmental impact

Indeed, at a time when the pressure on companies to reduce their environmental footprint grows ever more acute, Avinor is taking this responsibility very seriously. In October 2011 it announced its intention of investigating the possibility of setting up biofuel production for aviation in Norway. To this end, it has obtained tenders from some of the leading consultant communities in Norway who will investigate what it would take to establish commercially viable biofuel production for aviation in Norway.

The development of biofuel is important for the sustainable future of the aviation industry, which currently accounts for around two per cent of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions. With a doubling of air traffic expected in the next 15–20 years, biofuels will be an important part in the efforts to reduce aircraft emissions.

New chapter in European aerospace

In December 2011 Avinor, along with the air navigation services providers of Estonia, Finland and Latvia (EANS, Finavia and LGS), provided the European Commission with the necessary documentation to establish a North European Functional Airspace Block (NEFAB) by December 2012.

The establishment of NEFAB is expected to provide a huge boost to north European aerospace, including increased flight efficiency, higher safety levels and lower CO2 emissions. According to a feasibility study, the calculated benefits of the Functional Aerospace Block are expected to reach as much as €340 million for the period 2012–2025. This partnership will certainly aid Avinor in its mission to continue improving both the operational and environmental efficiency of its services. n