Assessing Technology Adoption in the European Air Traffic Management: The Cases of Virtual Centre and Flight-Centric Operations

Zeki, Engin · 2020 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.5075/epfl-thesis-10317

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Summary

This PhD thesis investigates the adoption of two emerging digital technologies in European Air Traffic Management (ATM): Virtual Centre (VC) and Flight-Centric Operations (FCO), also known as sector-less ATM. The research is motivated by the highly fragmented nature of European aviation infrastructure and the potential for these technologies to disrupt current air navigation services. Specifically, the study addresses two primary questions: how and to what extent these technologies will be adopted by relevant stakeholders, and what consequences this adoption will have on the implementation of the Single European Sky (SES). The study employs a socio-technical approach, combining Stakeholder Theory (ST) with Actor-Network Theory (ANT). Unlike traditional innovation diffusion models, this interpretive stance examines how technologies emerge and evolve through the interactions of human and non-human actors. The ANT methodology utilizes four processes—problematisation, interessement, enrolment, and mobilisation—to explain the adoption trajectory. Data was collected qualitatively through participant observation, interviews, and document analysis. The research design involves two case studies, one for each technology, analyzing the roles, interests, and relationships of key actors including Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), the manufacturing industry, EUROCONTROL, the SESAR Joint Undertaking, the European Commission, military entities, controller unions, and regulatory bodies like EASA. The findings detail the specific factors influencing adoption for both technologies, categorized into social, technical/operational, economic, political, and legal dimensions. For the Virtual Centre, the analysis highlights benefits related to capacity, cost-effectiveness, defragmentation of airspace, environmental impact, and safety. Similarly, for Flight-Centric Operations, the study identifies comparable benefits, emphasizing the shift from legacy systems toward open service-oriented architectures. The thesis maps the adoption process for each case, illustrating how stakeholders align their objectives within a stable network. It also identifies barriers and suggests improvements for the adoption process, noting that success depends heavily on the alignment of diverse stakeholder interests. The significance of this work lies in its contribution to understanding technology adoption in complex network industries. Theoretically, it provides a conceptual framework that integrates ST and ANT to analyze socio-technical systems. Practically, it offers recommendations for stakeholders to facilitate the uptake of VC and FCO, thereby supporting the broader goals of the Single European Sky initiative. The thesis concludes that while these technologies offer substantial operational and economic benefits, their adoption is contingent on navigating a complex web of political, legal, and social factors among fragmented actors.

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