ANTICIPATE the future: making better use of Europe’s airspace

As European air traffic continues to grow, managing congestion in the skies will require new approaches. Rather than relying only on expanding airspace or adding resources, the SESAR JU-supported ANTICIPATE project is exploring how predictive technologies and smarter capacity management can help make better use of the capacity already available. In this interview, project coordinator Miquel Ángel Piera explains how ANTICIPATE aims to move air traffic management from reacting to congestion towards anticipating it.

What is the main challenge that ANTICIPATE aims to address in air traffic management (ATM)?

The main challenge addressed by ANTICIPATE is the growing shortage of available airspace capacity, which is expected to worsen as air traffic demand continues to increase. This leads to imbalances between traffic demand and available sector capacity, triggering ATC capacity regulations, flight delays, and inefficient utilisation of the European airspace network. ANTICIPATE addresses this challenge by developing a predictive and operational "capacity-on-demand" solution that anticipate sector congestion and enable proactive capacity management. Through a capacity-on-demand approach, the project dynamically exploits underutilised resources across the ATM network, increasing the effective operational capacity without changing the airspace structure, compromising safety, nor modifying the most efficient trajectories of the flights. By making capacity available where and when it is needed, ANTICIPATE aims to improve network resilience, reduce delays, enhance traffic predictability, and maintain the highest levels of safety, leading to the virtual increase of the airspace capacity.

What are the main objectives of the project and what changes do you expect it will bring to the current system?

The main objective of ANTICIPATE is to mitigate ATC capacity regulations and their associated operational, environmental, and economic impacts by enabling a more dynamic, predictive, and efficient management of airspace capacity. As air traffic demand continues to grow, the project seeks to reduce the occurrence of localised sector overloads that trigger regulations, flight delays, increased fuel consumption due to rerouting, higher operating costs, and reduced network efficiency. Rather than relying solely on traditional solutions such as opening additional sectors, ANTICIPATE aims to optimise the utilisation of the capacity that already exists across the European ATM network.

The conventional response to increasing traffic demand has often been to split sectors and allocate additional air traffic controllers. While this approach can temporarily increase local capacity, it also requires additional human resources, which are becoming increasingly scarce, and introduces greater operational complexity. Furthermore, sector splitting considering planned traffic does not always result in an effective solution to lack of capacity due to discrepancies between planned traffic and flown traffic. It may create situations where one sector remains overloaded while adjacent sectors are significantly underutilised, leading to an overall inefficient allocation of network capacity.

ANTICIPATE proposes a different paradigm based on predictive traffic management and capacity-on-demand principles. By anticipating congestion before it develops and dynamically exploiting spare capacity available in neighboring sectors with a look-a-head of 10 minutes, the project aims to increase the effective operational capacity of the ATM network without requiring additional physical infrastructure or a proportional increase in controller resources.

In essence, ANTICIPATE shifts the focus from creating more capacity to making better use of the capacity that already exists.

Why do you think ANTICIPATE is important for the future of air traffic management in Europe?

ANTICIPATE is important because European air traffic is expected to continue growing over the coming decades, while the capacity of the ATM system cannot be expanded at the same pace through conventional means. Recruiting and training additional air traffic controllers requires significant time and investment, and further sector splitting eventually reaches practical and operational limits. As a result, improving the efficiency with which existing capacity is utilised has become one of the key priorities for the future of European ATM.

ANTICIPATE contributes to this objective by introducing predictive, data-driven, and operationally feasible solutions that enable traffic imbalances to be identified before they develop into sector overloads. By supporting proactive decision-making and implementing capacity-on-demand concepts, the project helps transform ATM from a predominantly reactive system into a more anticipatory and adaptive one.

Beyond reducing delays due to ATC capacity regulations, ANTICIPATE promotes a more balanced utilisation of the airspace network, increasing its effective operational capacity without requiring proportional increases in infrastructure or controller resources. This not only improves operational efficiency but also enhances network resilience, supports the sustainability objectives of European aviation by reducing unnecessary fuel burn and emissions associated with rerouting, and strengthens the ability of the ATM system to accommodate future traffic growth while maintaining the highest levels of safety.

What are the most important results you expect the project to achieve?

From an operational perspective, the ANTICIPATE solution is expected to reduce the number and duration of ATC capacity regulations, decrease flight delays, improve traffic predictability, and enhance the overall resilience of the European ATM network. By implementing capacity-on-demand concepts, the project also seeks to virtually increase the effective operational capacity of the network without requiring proportional increases in physical infrastructure or controller resources.

From a technological perspective, the project will deliver advanced prediction algorithms, decision-support tools, innovative traffic management concepts, and validated operational methodologies that can assist controllers, supervisors, and network managers in making more informed and timely decisions. These solutions are designed to integrate with future SESAR operational concepts and support the digital transformation of European ATM.

Ultimately, the expected result is not only a reduction in delays and operational costs, but also a demonstration that predictive, collaborative, and data-driven traffic management can become a key enabler for accommodating future traffic growth while maintaining the highest standards of safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

How do you think the results of ANTICIPATE could be used or further developed after the project ends?

ANTICIPATE provides a foundation for the next generation of collaborative "capacity-on-demand" ATM services. The concepts, methodologies, and decision-support tools developed during the project can be progressively integrated into future SESAR Solutions and operational environments, supporting controllers, flow management positions, and network managers in making more proactive and informed decisions.

ANTICIPATE is not intended to remain only a research project. Its concepts have a clear pathway toward higher technology readiness levels and, ultimately, operational implementation.

Beyond the project itself, the results can be further developed by incorporating more advanced artificial intelligence techniques, improving traffic prediction accuracy, and extending the capacity-on-demand concept to the next level, even with increasingly complex traffic scenarios.

Ultimately, the project's greatest legacy may be a shift in how capacity management is approached: moving from reactive responses to congestion toward predictive, collaborative, and capacity-on-demand mechanisms that make better use of the existing airspace network while maintaining the highest standards of safety.