Single European Sky - a possible regulatory framework for System Wide Information Management (SWIM)

Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) is the modernization programme of the European air traffic control infrastructure designed for the development of a new generation of air traffic management (ATM) technologies and procedures that will constitute the Single European Sky (SES) technologies and procedures. These will allow SES to cope with the increasing air traffic service demand predicted for the next twenty years. System Wide Information Management (SWIM) is a key part of SESAR; its objective is to create a new system of aeronautical information to increase efficiency and improve air transport safety. SWIM involves a group of independent users (Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP), airlines, airports, etc.) that will exchange aeronautical information to ensure a safe gate-to-gate movement of an aircraft (flying object). SWIM architecture has many similarities with today's Internet. SWIM, as with any other system created to provide a public service, needs a regulatory framework for governance and to establish the identification of responsibilities and liabilities of the parties involved in the programme. The conclusions of different debates regarding the governance of such organizations have led to the wide acceptance of the principle that for every organization where many parties operate with a certain degree of freedom, it is advisable to set up a system of guidelines, with mechanisms to encourage participating parties to conform, for example, to a code of conduct. In short, this article examines a possible system for regulating the relationships between all the parties involved, offering a comprehensive description of the SWIM programme, its possible governance, and the main elements for designing a regulatory framework.