Denmark's air navigation service provider, contributing operational ATM expertise to 35 SESAR projects spanning trajectory management, drone integration, and digital tower operations.
NAVIAIR is Denmark's national Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), responsible for managing air traffic control across Danish airspace from its base near Copenhagen Airport. In H2020, they contributed operational ATM expertise to the SESAR programme — Europe's initiative to modernize air traffic management — participating in 35 projects covering trajectory management, arrival/departure optimization, remote tower operations, drone integration, and network management. Their role is that of a domain authority: they bring real-world air traffic control experience, operational validation environments, and frontline controller perspectives to research consortia developing the next generation of European ATM systems.
Central to PJ18 4DTM (EUR 405K, their largest funded project), PJ18-W2 4D Skyways (EUR 334K), PJ06 ToBeFREE, PJ31 DIGITS, PJ10 PROSA, and PJ27 IOPVLD — covering trajectory prediction, conflict detection, free routing, and flight object interoperability.
Active in PJ01 EAD and its Wave 2 successor, PJ25 XSTREAM (cross-border arrival management), and PJ02 EARTH — working on extended AMAN, queue management, PBN approaches, and runway throughput.
Contributed to PJ05 Remote Tower, PJ05-W2 Digital Technologies for Tower, PJ03a SUMO (surface management), PJ04 TAM and PJ04-W2 covering total airport management and remote tower HMI.
Participated in PJ13-W2 ERICA (RPAS insertion in controlled airspace), PODIUM (UTM/U-Space demonstrations), with keywords showing growing focus on detect-and-avoid, IFR drone operations, and unmanned aircraft accommodation.
Involved in PJ09 DCB (demand capacity balancing), PJ09-W2 DNMS (digital network management), PJ24 NCM (network collaborative management), and PJ20 AMPLE (master planning).
Contributed to PJ14 EECNS, PJ14-W2 I-CNSS (integrated CNS systems covering LDACS, SATCOM, GBAS, ADS-B), and PJ17 SWIM-TI (SWIM technical infrastructure).
In the early phase (2016–2019), NAVIAIR focused on foundational SESAR building blocks: demand-capacity balancing (DCB), the ATM Master Plan, Single European Sky deployment roadmaps, and core en-route airspace operations — essentially modernizing existing air traffic control processes. In Wave 2 (2019–2023), their focus shifted decisively toward digital and autonomous operations: drone/RPAS integration into controlled airspace, digital remote towers, trajectory-based operations (TBO), and advanced conflict detection — reflecting the broader SESAR transition from incremental improvements to transformational changes in how airspace is managed.
NAVIAIR is moving from traditional ATC modernization toward drone airspace integration and fully digital tower/trajectory operations — positioning them as a key operational partner for U-Space and autonomous ATM research.
NAVIAIR participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator — consistent with an ANSP role where the value lies in providing operational expertise and validation rather than project management. With 167 unique partners across 27 countries, they operate as a well-connected hub within the SESAR ecosystem, typically embedded in large consortia (SESAR projects routinely involve 20+ partners). Their consistent presence across nearly every major SESAR work package suggests they are a trusted, go-to operational partner that research consortia actively seek out for real-world ATM validation.
With 167 unique consortium partners spanning 27 countries, NAVIAIR has one of the broadest collaboration networks in European ATM research — effectively connected to every major ANSP, aerospace company, and ATM research center on the continent through the SESAR programme.
As Denmark's national ANSP, NAVIAIR offers something most research partners cannot: sovereign airspace and live operational environments for validating ATM concepts. Their participation across virtually every SESAR work package — from surface management to en-route operations to drone integration — gives them a uniquely comprehensive view of the entire ATM value chain. For consortium builders, NAVIAIR brings not just Danish airspace access but proven ability to coordinate with neighbouring Nordic and Baltic ANSPs for cross-border demonstrations (as shown in PJ25 XSTREAM).
