4. Operational context/applications and related recommendations

This chapter describes the operational context and applications which have been validated to date (by the SESAR JU programme and approved as SESAR Solutions), as well as operational contexts and applications for which remote aerodrome ATS have been approved for operation, together with related recommendations. This would not rule out the possibility for an expansion into other more challenging operational contexts and applications based on further research and operational experience. Regardless of the operational context, the implementation of remote aerodrome ATS will depend upon a local safety assessment, in accordance with applicable regulations and the procedures accepted by the relevant competent authority. In this chapter, when discussing the results stemming from the SESAR JU programme, some terms used by SESAR are frequently referred to and they should be understood as follows: ‘basic and advanced features’ is a division of technical enablers used by SESAR to validate different equipage levels (refer to Appendix 4 for a representative division between basic and advanced features); ‘low-density aerodromes’ are described by SESAR as aerodromes with typically a low capacity utilisation, where the prevailing traffic is mostly single aircraft movement operations, rarely reaching or exceeding two simultaneous aircraft movements; and ‘medium-density aerodromes’ are described by SESAR as aerodromes with typically a medium capacity utilisation, where simultaneous aircraft movement operations can be expected, frequently experiencing more than one aircraft movement simultaneously.