Luftverkehrsmanagements

Luftverkehrsmanagements, often rendered in English as air traffic management (ATM), designates the set of procedures, systems, and organizations that ensure the safe, orderly, and efficient movement of aircraft through airspace and on the ground. It encompasses planning and demand-capacity balancing, en-route control, separation services, sequencing at airports, and coordination with air navigation infrastructure, meteorological services, and ground facilities.

ATM comprises several functional areas, including air traffic services (ATS), airspace management (ASM), and air traffic flow management (ATFM). It relies on CNS infrastructure—communication, navigation, surveillance—for reliable information exchange, and on meteorological data to support flight planning and operations.

International standards for ATM are set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and implemented by regional authorities. In Europe, EUROCONTROL and national regulators oversee operations, while initiatives such as the Single European Sky (SES) aim to modernize the architecture to increase capacity, safety, and efficiency.

Modern ATM modernization emphasizes trajectory-based operations, performance-based navigation, ADS-B surveillance, CPDLC data communications, and integrated information management. These developments support reduced delays, lower fuel consumption, and greater resilience through data sharing and interoperability across borders.

Examples of programs include Europe’s SESAR and the United States’ NextGen, which coordinate with international partners to harmonize standards, facilitate cross-border operations, and adopt common procedures. Luftverkehrsmanagements thus represents a global, evolving framework essential to contemporary aviation.