Airports are like cities. For city dwellers to be able to enjoy a good quality of life as they navigate through the streets, pedestrian crossings and passages must be designed to enable safe and efficient pedestrian transit. Similarly, city traffic must be carefully orchestrated and designed to facilitate safe and seamless flows. And for this orchestration to happen, all responsible authorities must collaborate.   Airports work in a similar fashion. For passengers to have a good travel experience, their journey from check-in to take-off must be as simple as possible. Similarly, all a ..read more

One of the key levers to enhancing flight safety is through strengthened pilot training and certification. The development of Evidence-Based Training (EBT), which focuses on the non-technical skills and competencies that are required to build resilience, holds tremendous promise, and is at the heart of the recently-announced PERCEVAL project. In her latest LinkedIn opinion piece, Yannick Assouad, Thales EVP for Avionics, explains how EBT and the PERCEVAL project can truly empower pilots and enable them to ever more efficient in their everyday performance. “EBT provides the means to help the i ..read more

Thales has announceD that it has completed the acquisition of Cobham Aerospace Communications, (“AeroComms”), a leading supplier of advanced, ultra-reliable innovative safety cockpit communication and connectivity systems. This is a major milestone for Thales, complementing and strengthening its avionics portfolio and creating a worldwide player in this market. With ~734 employees, of which ~190 engineers, AeroComms operates across a well-invested footprint in France, South Africa, USA/Canada, and Denmark. This transaction will create significant value for Thales shareholders in line with ..read more

Sponsored by the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC), the PERCEVAL project (Pilot bEhaviouR and CompEtency EVALuation) will be conducted by a Thales-led consortium including the ENAC national civil aviation school, the Centre Borelli research laboratory from ENS Paris-Saclay, the Corsair airline and the Simaero and AviaSim training centres to validate a new approach to behavioural evaluation of airline pilots and air traffic controllers. Training programmes are changing rapidly in the civil aviation sector, particularly with the introduction of Evidence-Based Training (EBT) concepts and oth ..read more

Taking the opportunity to explore Open, Safe and Secure ATM   When the world was in the midst (and the worst) of the Covid-19 crisis, it was difficult to imagine that such worldwide catastrophe could potentially bring positive changes. However, four years after the world came to a complete stop; air travel demand continues to increase much faster than previously anticipated. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2023 international traffic had almost completely caught up with 2019 levels (88.6%)[1]. This was supposed to take five years, according to post-pande ..read more

A pivotal feature integrated into both systems is the installation of Multilateration (MLAT) technology – specifically the Thales’ MAGS – an innovative technology which very accurately locate the aircraft by using a method known as Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA). Multilateration employs ground stations, placed in strategic locations around an airport. This technology implementation at Astana Airport was the second in Kazakhstan – the first being in Almaty and also deployed by Thales. This surveillance system empowers air traffic controllers with an additional sensor solution for comprehensi ..read more

U-ELCOME Initiative: Welcoming a new era in urban air mobility The U-ELCOME initiative is dedicated to the integration of digital and physical infrastructures for safe drone integration into the airspace, showcasing specific solutions defined by SESAR the European research and innovation structure (Single European Sky ATM Research). SESAR in an institutionalised European partnership between private and public sector partners set up to accelerate through research and innovation the delivery of the Digital European Sky. The U-ELCOME project focuses primarily on the implementation of U ..read more

Could you tell us about yourself, including your academic and professional background, and what sparked your interest in air traffic management and technology innovation? I started my professional career as an R&D engineer in Makino Asia Pte. Ltd. under a scholarship they offered and was in charge of designing mechanical components for milling machines. Hence, my journey in research and innovation started very early in my career. Since then, I have been in the public service spanning defense, aviation, environment, and IT sectors for over a decade, working on industry development and te ..read more

SWIM is a key concept in the modern aviation sector. It refers to an integrated system that facilitates information exchange among various aviation stakeholders, such as airlines, airports and air navigation service providers. ICAO defines System Wide Information Management (SWIM) as “Standards, infrastructure and governance enabling the management of ATM related information and its exchange between qualified parties via interoperable services.” It aims to improve information management and coordination of aviation operations by enabling secure and real-time access to quality data. It fosters ..read more

Hi Frank! Please tell us about yourself and why did you choose to join Thales?  My career in the aviation industry spans over 3 decades. I graduated from ESIEA with a degree in Computer Networking and System Integration. And I was immediately recruited by Thales to join its Air Traffic Management division. I am passionate about aviation, and with Thales I’ve had the opportunity to fulfil my passion while working alongside talented and equally passionate colleagues.  I spent the first seventeen years of my career at Thales in the air traffic management sector, where I held a variety o ..read more