Virtualisation in ATM: enabling a service-based, resilient air traffic system - Airspace World SESAR Walking Tour reports
Air traffic management is entering a new era where services, rather than physical infrastructure, increasingly define how operations are delivered. This shift towards virtualisation is a key element of the European ATM Master Plan, which sets the direction for a more digital, service-based and resilient ATM system. These developments were explored during the SESAR Walking Tour at Airspace World 2026, guided by Juan Rodriguez Poveda, SESAR Joint Undertaking.
Flexible operations: linking airspace configuration and workforce deployment
A first set of challenges linked to virtualisation concerns how ATM adapts both its airspace structure and its operational workforce to increasingly dynamic conditions. At the AT-One/DLR stand, Sebastian Schier-Morgen presented the IFAV3 project, which aims to improve the flexibility, efficiency, and resilience of European air traffic management while maintaining high safety standards.
The project has developed four complementary solutions, including improved controller competency management, traffic flow visualisation, local procedure displays, operational alerts and smarter sector grouping - two of solutions were presented during the Walking Tour.
The first presented by Sebastian Schier-Morgen is the smart controller experience assessment and required competency estimation for en-route ATM, which introduces a more flexible way to assign air traffic controllers (ATCOs) to sectors. The solution combines the assessment of controller experience, based on operational and training data, with the analysis of upcoming operational conditions such as flight plans, weather forecasts and planned airspace use. By matching controller competency with anticipated traffic complexity, supervisors can better allocate resources, support more flexible staffing and reduce training needs while maintaining safety. Validations in the Maastricht upper area control centre (MUAC) confirmed the potential of these strategies to support more adaptive ATM operations.
Alongside operational flexibility, at the INECO stand, José Manuel Risquez, showcased the project’s smart sector grouping (GRU) tool. The solution helps air navigation service providers (ANSPs) design optimal future sector grouping structures years in advance to meet expected traffic demand while maximising the use of available resources and supporting workforce planning. Demonstrated as a live interactive prototype, the tool showed how optimal sector groupings can be identified under different operational conditions, supporting more flexible controller endorsements and boosting cost efficiency, while maintaining safety and human performance.
The smart sector grouping tool (GRU) tool was demonstrated as a live interactive prototype, allowing participants to experience system outputs and visualisations of airspace configurations and operational indicators in real time. It showed how optimal sector groupings can be identified under current operational conditions, supporting the selection of candidate sectors for flexible endorsement.
From fixed ATM systems to virtualised services
A key challenge in modern ATM is the continued reliance on location-bound systems, which limits flexibility and complexifies cross-border coordination. At the Indra stand, Julián Alonso presented the VITACY project, which introduces a "triangle architecture", reorganising services traditionally provided by a single data service provider into modular data services handling arrival management (AMAN), time-based separation (TBS), and conflict detection. This shift from monolithic systems to distributed services was demonstrated through real-time simulation (RTS) validation activities in Madrid, where AMAN and time based separation (TBS) services were disaggregated from the main air data service provider (ADSP) and integrated within a virtual centre framework. The exercises proved that both AMAN/TBS ADSPs were successfully integrated into the Virtual Centre triangle architecture, demonstrating its technical feasibility as an externalized service. The solutions proved that the ADSP concept can increase flexibility, improve cost efficiency and support harmonised ATM functionalities across airspace users.
At the DSNA stand, Victor Véron presented another operational context covering by the VITACY project, focusing on large-scale distributed simulations carried out in Marseille air traffic control centre (ACC) and the approach to Nice Airport. The demonstrations showcased a fully disaggregated architecture deployed across multiple sites, including DSNA’s experimentation laboratory and public/private cloud environments hosting AMAN, Departure Manager (DMAN) and CNS data services (SUR data - tracker). Using components such as Thales’ TopSky-Sequencer, the 4-FLIGHT system and SWIM-based data exchanges secured via mutual authentication (TLS), the exercise demonstrated the functional viability of the triangle architecture under realistic traffic conditions, including high load traffic events such as the Monaco Grand Prix and Cannes Film Festival. It also provided insights into performance considerations, particularly for surveillance data chains and cloud-based service delivery, highlighting both the maturity of the concept and the areas requiring further optimisation.
Distributed validation for distributed ATM systems
As ATM systems become more virtualised, validation itself must evolve. This is where the VISORS project comes in, which was presented at the AT-One/DLR stand by Gunnar Schwoch (DLR) and Rolf Zon (NLR). The project has demonstrated a federated simulation network linking distributed real-time platforms across geographical locations (ANSPs, ACCs, etc). This set-up allows different organisations and simulation platforms to work together remotely while sharing operational and human performance data in real time.. A live scenario involving an air taxi and drone operation between Munich Airport and the city centre illustrated how interconnected simulators can replicate realistic operational conditions, including emergency events in controlled airspace and U-space environments. This approach reduces the limitations of traditional, centralised validation and enables more realistic and scalable testing of future ATM systems.
More about IFAV3
More about VITACY
More about VISORS
Read about virtualisation and the new service delivery model in the European ATM Master Plan