(1)

Information exchanges between flight data processing systems are established between air traffic control units for the purposes of notification, coordination and transfer of flights and for the purposes of civil-military coordination. These information exchanges should rely upon appropriate and harmonised communication protocols to secure their interoperability.

(2)

The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) has been given a mandate in accordance with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 549/2004 to develop requirements for a flight message transfer protocol to be used for the purpose of notification, coordination and transfer of flights. This Regulation is based on the resulting mandate report of 31 March 2005.

(3)

The Eurocontrol standard for Flight Data Exchange was annexed to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2082/2000 of 6 September 2000 adopting Eurocontrol standards and amending Directive 97/15/EC, adopting Eurocontrol standards and amending Council Directive 93/65/EEC (3), making its use mandatory within the Community in the event of procurement of new flight data processing systems. As Regulation (EC) No 2082/2000 was repealed with effect from 20 October 2005, it is necessary to update Community legislation, so as to ensure the consistency of relevant regulatory provisions.

(4)

It is becoming more and more difficult and costly to maintain Communication equipment and software complying with the Eurocontrol standard for Flight Data Exchange. An appropriate new standard to support the exchange of flight data should therefore be adopted.

(5)

The Transmission Control Protocol together with the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is currently considered as the most appropriate basis to meet the communication requirements of flight data exchanges between air traffic control units.

(6)

This Regulation should cover the application of a flight message transfer protocol used for the information exchanges in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1032/2006 of 6 July 2006 laying down requirements for automatic systems for the exchange of flight data for the purpose of notification, coordination and transfer of flights between air traffic control units (4).

(7)

This Regulation should not cover military operations and training as referred in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 549/2004.

(8)

In a statement on military issues related to the Single European Sky (5), the Member States committed themselves to cooperate with each other, taking into account national military requirements, in order that the concept of flexible use of airspace is fully and uniformly applied in all Member States by all users of airspace.

(9)

The application of the concept of flexible use of airspace, as defined in Article 2(22) of Regulation (EC) No 549/2004, requires the establishment of systems for the timely exchange of flight data between air traffic service units and controlling military units.

(10)

In accordance with Article 3(3)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 552/2004, implementing rules for interoperability should describe the specific conformity assessment procedures to be used to assess either the conformity or the suitability for use of constituents as well as the verification of systems.

(11)

In accordance with Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No 552/2004, the date for the application of the essential requirements and transitional arrangements may be specified by the relevant implementing rules for interoperability.

(12)

Manufacturers and air navigation service providers should be afforded a period of time to develop new constituents and systems in conformity with the new technical requirements.

(13)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Single Sky Committee established by Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 549/2004,

1.

‘flight message transfer protocol’ means a protocol for electronic communication comprising message formats, their encoding for interchange and sequence rules used for the information exchanges between flight data processing systems;

2.

‘flight data processing system’ means the part of an air traffic services system which receives, automatically processes and distributes to air traffic control units working positions, flight plan data and associated messages;

3.

‘air traffic control unit’ (hereinafter ATC unit) means variously area control centre, approach control unit or aerodrome control tower;

4.

‘working position’ means the furniture and technical equipment at which a member of the air traffic services staff undertakes task associated with their job;

5.

‘area control centre’ (hereinafter ACC) means a unit established to provide air traffic control service to controlled flights in control areas under its responsibility;

6.

‘civil-military coordination’ means the coordination between civil and military parties authorised to make decisions and agree a course of action;

7.

‘air traffic services unit’ (hereinafter ATS unit) means a unit, civil or military, responsible for providing air traffic services;

8.

‘controlling military unit’ means any fixed or mobile military unit handling military air traffic and/or pursuing other activities that, due to their specific nature, may require airspace reservation or restriction;

9.

‘peer-to-peer communication mechanism’ means a mechanism for communication established between two ATC units or between ATS units and controlling military units in which each party has the same communication capabilities for the information exchange between flight data processing systems and either party can initiate the communication.