Turning sunlight into jet fuel

Swiss researchers have developed a unique technology that uses concentrated solar heat to produce sustainable aviation fuel. The solar fuel technology is now being commercialized and will hopefully soon make a significant contribution to decarbonizing aviation.

Air Navigation Commission visits the Azores

After a year and a half of life under COVID-19, the ANC decided to bring back the traditional Annual Study Visit, an event taking place since 2009 but interrupted last year due to the pandemic. The many restrictions still affecting international travel were considered and the decision was to venture into the middle of the Atlantic to visit the heart of Santa Maria FIR, in the Azorean island that gives it the name.

Air Navigation Commission

In this surreal situation we find ourselves today, maybe it is a good idea to write a few words about something completely different and less surreal: What is it like to be a member on the Air Navigation Commission?

It has now been almost two years that I was officially nominated to this “august body” of ICAO (that is how sometimes we refer to it, when we want to be extremely formal), so, to start, let us go back in time and into the history of the ANC.
Albano Coutinho 

Aircraft leasing

What is aircraft leasing and why do airlines lease? Aircraft leasing is in essence a simple transaction. Typically an aircraft lessor purchases aircraft directly from the airframe manufacturer e.g. Airbus or Boeing. These aircraft are then leased by an airline which gives them the right to use the aircraft for which rental or lease payments are made to the lessor. For airlines, lease options give financial flexibility freeing up liquidity and minimising issues arising from the management of residual value of aircraft as they age. Leasing also allows for greater flexibility as regards replacing

Tacking environmental challenges in aviation

Environmental concerns represent a potential constraint on the future development of the international aviation sector, hence the Abis Group fully supports on-going efforts to address the full range of these concerns, including in particular the challenges posed by climate change.
We are fully committed to the fight against climate change and actively involved in the work towards a resource-efficient, competitive and sustainable multimodal transport system.
Each Member of the Abis Group is contributing to these climate mitigation actions as mentioned above, both through through national

U-Space - a way to integrate RPAS into the civil aviation concept

Applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are growing rapidly. They are used for a wide range of tasks, including logistics, surveillance, geo information or agriculture, and their economic significance is assessed to grow rapidly in the future. Worldwide, Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs) are working on regulatory frameworks for UAS. In many major aviation regions there is a clear sign of convergence towards a risk-based and operation-centric approach, based on recommendations from the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS). This approach allows CAAs and industry

Avoiding airspace infringements

Airspace infringements (AI) are also referred to as unauthorized penetrations of airspace. They are generally defined as flights into notified airspace without previously requesting and obtaining approval from the controlling authority of that airspace in accordance with international and national regulations.
(Contribution from Belgium)

Improving aviation security and facilitation

Tourism plays an important role in the Portuguese economy. According to figures from the World Economic Forum (WEF), Portugal was the 14th most competitive country in the tourism sector in 2017. In 2017, Portugal was visited by nearly 42 million tourists, four times the size of the Portuguese population. Their presence generated revenues worth more than 15 million Euros and contributed to an increase of 7% in employment levels. Additionally, tourism represents 18% of Portuguese exports. In this context, one cannot dissociate tourism from the growth of air transport in Portugal, which in 2018

Airport development and regional connectivity in Croatia

The airports network in Croatia is well developed and geographically widespread. There are currently 8 international airports certified in accordance with EU Regulation 139/2014 and almost 30 smaller airports (on land and water) certified in accordance with the applicable national regulations. Two of the international airports are located in the continental part of Croatia while the other six are located on the coast, two of them being on islands.

Cyber security in Air Traffic Management

In order to ensure the highest standard of safety and security within Luxembourg’s civil aviation, one of the missions of the Luxembourg Directorate of Civil Aviation (hereinafter “DAC”) is to conduct audits in all the domains under its field of competence.
(Contribution from Luxembourg)