SESAR JU RISE Project Wraps Up With Tremendous Success
December 14, 2016
NAVBLUE and its SEJAR partners are proud to announce the successful completion of the RISE Project (RNP Implementation Synchronised in Europe). Together, with SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU), we have laid the ground work for the deployment of performance-based navigation (PBN) procedures at eight airports located in southern Europe.

The two-year RISE project aimed at improving airport access and enhancing safety of operations by removing the circle-to-land approaches, without relying on the ground navigation infrastructure, lowering the weather minima and allowing shorter tracks resulting in track mile savings and continuous descent operations.

The project, co-financed by SJU, was managed by NAVBLUE, in collaboration with four air navigation service providers (ANSPs) – DCAC, NAV Portugal, DSNA, HCAA –three airline operators – Air France, Novair and TAP Portugal, and numerous participant airlines including Aegean, EasyJet, Emirates and Air Corsica. These partners conducted over 500 flight trials, demonstrating 43 PBN procedures, such as required navigation performance (RNP) approaches with authorisation required (AR), RNP approaches, visual RNAV approaches, and RNP1 to instrument landing system (ILS) procedures (RNAV (RNP), RNAV (GNSS), RNAV Visual, RNP1 to ILS).

Paul-Franck Bijou, Chief Commercial Officer, NAVBLUE, remarked: “This project represented how industry partners can collaborate closely, each bringing their own expertise, to make substantial ecological and financial gains in the aviation industry benefitting all today and in the long term.”

For each airport, the project included design of the PBN procedures, validation on a full flight simulator, training of air traffic controllers and real flight demonstrations and supported extensively through the active participation of the four ANSPs.

Florian Guillermet, Executive Director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking remarked: “The RISE project represented an excellent opportunity to demonstrate more widely the significant efficiency, safety and environmental benefits that are possible with PBN procedures. I am very pleased that we were successful in improving access to regional airports, which is critical for better mobility and connectivity in Europe.”

Through questionnaires completed by Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) and flight crews and through flight data recordings, the project received very positive feedback and has been deemed to be a tremendous success that is bringing to the industry numerous safety enhancements, environmental benefits through reduced fuel consumption and noise disturbances while also providing greater airport accessibility.