Pianabella vertiport has hosted a live U-space operations trial this week as part of the SESAR Joint Undertaking EUREKA SESAR3 Fast Track project project.
Italian air navigation services provider ENAV, along with D-Flight, Techno Sky, UrbanV, Leonardo, NAIS and Unisphere have developed a solution to address vertiport network flow, capacity and operational management, enabling effective coordination of advanced air mobility operations across a vertiport network.
Writing on LinkedIn, ENAV U-space researcher Giovanni Riccardi said the Pianabella demonstrations validated the interoperability between the Vertiport Network Manager, the Common Information Service Provider (CISP) and USSPs operating in a U-space airspace. He added that network-level contingency use cases, including vertiport closures and U-space airspace closure managed through Dynamic Airspace Reconfiguration (DAR), were also covered.
An open day with a live trial followed the simulations, which enabled stakeholders such as Eurocontrol and the Italian civil aviation authority ENAC to observe the system in action within a realistic operational environment.
“These activities represent an important step towards scalable, safe and interoperable vertiport network operations for future air mobility,” Riccardi said.
The vertiport simulations and trial followed a SESAR Joint Undertaking validation event at the Taranto-Grottaglie Airport test bed, which focused on the integration between U-Space and ATM in realistic operational scenarios. There, ENAV was joined by Leonardo, D-Flight, Techno Sky, DTA – Distretto Tecnologico Aerospaziale and NAIS.
Riccardi explained that the Taranto-Grottaglie simulations addressed emergency and priority-driven drone operations, search and rescue missions involving both drones and emergency response helicopters, and routine CNS inspections with drones in controlled airspace. “Particular attention was given to ATM–U-Space coordination and the use of Dynamic Airspace Reconfiguration (DAR) to safely manage mixed traffic operations,” Riccardi said.
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Image: Giovanni Riccardi / LinkedIn
