Spain Indra Wins Tender

Europes leading air navigation body EUROCONTROL has selected Indra one of the leading global technology and consulting companies for the digital transformation of the operational systems of the EUROCONTROL Network Manager. EUROCONTROL in its capacity as the Network Manager designated by the European Commission cooperates closely with air navigation service providers ANSPS airports airlines and the military across 43 states. Indra has competed with the European leading technology companies to become responsible for the digitalisation of the operating systems that manage the European aviation network. The contract won by Indra is a framework agreement with a maximum amount of 173 million euros the largest contract tendered by EUROCONTROL in its history. Indras digitalisation of EUROCONTROLs operational systems will facilitate a more accurate flight operation planning which will increase punctuality and security enhance the ability to manage more air traffic in Europe and increase the sustainability of air traffic.Ignacio Mataix Chief Executive Officer of Indra said The combination of Indras dimensions with our worldwide leadership and experience in the development of the most cutting-edge Air Traffic systems together with our unique ability to create a multidisciplinary team of specialists that respond to all aspects of the project has played a key role in placing Indra in a unique position to meet this challenge.Having been selected as the company responsible for digitalizing the European air traffic network a critical project for the future of air transport throughout the continent is the culmination of Indras growth process in the air traffic sector over the last 25 years in which it has enjoyed the support of the Spanish Administration and international institutions and which has resulted in the company being a world leader in Air Traffic Systems thanks to a complete portfolio of technological systems that allows it to have numerous global references and to be a major player in SESAR and in the Single European Sky with the iTEC system.Eamonn Brennan EUROCONTROL Director General added iNM is a digital transformation programme that will further optimise the way EUROCONTROL supports aviation enabling us to continue to provide innovative customer-focused solutions to our stakeholders. This is the largest single capital investment programme in EUROCONTROLs history and I am delighted that in Indra we have found a world-leading technology company to join our existing technology partners to realize our ambition of being the digital leader in aviation. Indra will develop cutting-edge digital solutions that will boost the air traffic flight and flow management services that EUROCONTROL provides and increase the level of collaboration and automation of the Network Managers operations and airlines airports and control centers through innovative technologies such as virtualisation cloud computing artificial intelligence data analytics or machine learning among others all of them in a cyber-secure ecosystem.To this end Indra will integrate the capabilities of its entire group in the EUROCONTROL digitalisation project. Teams of Air Traffic specialists both in Spain and in Germany through its subsidiary Avitech will intervene in a coordinated manner. Minsait the groups leading company in digital transformation and information technologies will play a central role in the project together with professionals from its subsidiaries Paradigma a leading digital transformation consultancy offering digital natives and ALG a consultancy specializing in aviation transport infrastructure and logistics.The future iNM integrated management systemFollowing the network digitalisation carried out by Indra the future integrated Network Management iNM of EUROCONTROL will calculate much more accurately the slots available at each airport i.e. the window of time allocated to each aircraft so that it can take off with the assurance that on arrival at its destination it will be able to land with minimal or no delay. This will optimise every flight and avoid unnecessary CO2 emissions therefore saving costs.The complete digitalization of the management of the data that make up the aeronautical information of the continent will entail that all the information on the structure sectors into which the airspace is divided airways assets available for management surveillance systems military areas closed to traffic at any given moment etc. will be updated in an automated and agile way. The accuracy of these data will help improve air traffic flows and coordination between the various stakeholders.EUROCONTROL will also have the most advanced tools to check the flight plans of each aircraft that airlines submit for prior approval. The professionals of this organization strategically plan each operation weeks and months in advance and review and polish it as the flight date approaches in successive pre-tactical and tactical phases. The network manager will raise the accuracy threshold of this planning providing it with greater processing capacity speed and intelligence. This will help aircraft to follow more precise and efficient routes.The integrated network management iNM system will also be a central element in building the European Digital Sky the collaborative ecosystem that will make the EU the worlds most efficient place to fly in the world. This system will play a critical role in coordinating a network of 68 major air traffic control centers and more than 500 European airports which serves more than 6600 airlines and other European airspace users each year until the pandemic hit it supervised an average of 30000 flights a day 11 million a year.