Real-time flight data exchange between Eurocontrol, UAE goes live

Eurocontrol and the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority have begun exchanging real-time flight data, as part of a cooperation agreement signed in October last year. The agreement was signed with the aim of addressing a lack of predictability of traffic between Europe and the Middle East. It covers not only the exchange of real-time flight data, but also updated flight plan and airport departure planning information. About 400 flights a day operate between the two regions with a further 150-200 overflights, and traffic is growing 3.6% a year. Eurocontrol’s director-network manager Joe Sultana said: “The full implementation of this cooperation agreement will bring substantial benefits to the predictability of these traffic flows as all ATM actors will have much more accurate information on these flights." <br/>