ENAIRE, the Government of the Canary Islands and the Fuerteventura Technology Park sign a partnership agreement to develop projects in the aviation and space sectors

ENAIRE, the national air navigation service provider, has signed a partnership agreement with the Council of Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the Canary Islands Agency for Research, Innovation and the Information Society (ACIISI), and the Council of Fuerteventura, through the Parque Tecnológico de Fuerteventura S.A. (PTFSA), which will allow the development of projects in the aviation and space sectors.

The protocol signed establishes areas of joint participation in new projects related to drones, air mobility and satellites

The protocol signed lays out areas of joint participation in new projects related to drones, air mobility and satellites, as well as sources of funding for the Canarias Geo Innovation 2030 Earth observation programme, and it advances projects already underway.

The Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, José Antonio Santano, digitally signed the protocol in his capacity as ENAIRE's Chairman, as did the councilwoman for Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture of the Government of the Canary Islands, Migdalia María Machín Tavío, and the President of the Board of Directors of the Parque Tecnológico de Fuerteventura S.A., Dolores Alicia García Martínez.

Purpose of the Protocol

The purpose of this Protocol, which is valid for one year and renewable for four more, is to establish the foundations for a partnership to promote, support or carry out activities of common interest in joint programmes or projects at a local, regional, national or European level aimed at promoting R&D (research and development) in aviation, aerospace and new technologies related to air navigation services; or for digital and technological development in the provision of aviation and aerospace services.

Some of the main general areas of action of this Protocol, which may lead to the signing of specific agreements, are:

- Promotion of R&D in aviation and aerospace and in new technologies related to air navigation services.

- Airspace integration of UAS vehicles and platforms (Unmanned Aerial Systems), i.e., drones and HAPS (High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Platforms).

- Development of the operational concepts of U-space (automated management of drones in controlled spaces) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM), i.e., air mobility with air taxis or drones with goods, for future implementation and deployment nationwide, including the Canary Islands.

- Collaboration in the development and potential implementation of flight procedures based on the concept of performance navigation (PBN) to improve accessibility of drones to new vertiports defined within the framework of the current collaboration, thus promoting new modes of operation and improving the integration of UAS and HASP into the airspace.

- Identification and promotion of strategic alliances between the different Spanish actors and agents involved in the deployment of U-space services, urban air mobility (UAM), including the execution of joint research and development projects, creation of consortia, training activities, etc.

- Promotion and support of the Canarias Geo Innovation Programme 2030, as well as development of the rollout projects.

- Promotion and support of the development and rollout of ENAIRE's STARTICAL project (satellite constellation to provide air navigation services).

- Search for and, where applicable, participate jointly in European or national projects related to the purpose of this Protocol.             

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.

As a company of the Ministry of Sustainable Transport and Mobility, it provides en route control services for all flights and overflights from five control centres in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Gran Canaria and Palma, as well as approach services to every airport in the country.

In addition, 46 airports receive communication, navigation and surveillance services from ENAIRE, which also maintains their air traffic control systems, and 21 of them, including the country's busiest airports, rely on its aerodrome air traffic control services.

ENAIRE is Europe's fourth largest air traffic manager and participates in the A6 Alliance, a coalition of air navigation providers responsible for over 80% of European air traffic, and which is seeking to modernise the air traffic management system. It is also a member of other international alliances promoting the Single European sky, such as SESAR Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO and ICAO.

ENAIRE, as the responsible agency identified by the Ministry of Sustainable Transport and Mobility to implement the U-Space system in Spain, will, through its digital platform, provide the Common Information Services (CIS), which are essential to facilitate U-space services to drones and Urban Air Mobility in cooperation with local air traffic services, so that all types of aircraft can fly safely in the same airspace.

ENAIRE has received the highest score in Europe on the aviation safety key performance indicator for four years in a row, and it now boasts the ESQM 600 seal, the result of its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.