Smart airports, airports as multimodal nodes and passenger experience
SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking Bi-Annual Work Programme 2024-2025
Funding Amount
€1.0M - €3.0M
Deadline
16/09/2025
Eligible Organization Types
Non-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution
Trusted by
What is the Smart airports, airports as multimodal nodes and passenger experience Call?
Grant Description
This call supports research and innovation actions to advance airport operations in line with the European ATM Master Plan. It targets smart and cyber-resilient airport platforms by developing centralised lite airport operations centres for regional airports, group airport operations planning, integration of user-driven prioritisation processes, environmental performance management dashboards, multimodal data exchange for passenger experience, and safe integration of instrument flight rules remo...
Required Results for Successful Funding
Expected Outcomes
To significantly advance development actions IR-4-07 (Smart airports, airports as multimodal nodes and passenger experience) and IR-4-03 (Cyber-resilience and cyber-security capabilities enabling the next generation of airport platforms) by delivering validated operational concepts, decision-support tools, dashboards, and technological enablers that:
• Integrate airport operations with ATM network services to enhance predictability, situational awareness and resilience
• Improve environmental and operational performance via real-time monitoring and mitigation measures
• Enable secure, collaborative and cyber-resilient airport platforms
• Provide seamless passenger processing and intermodal transport integration
• Demonstrate safe IFR RPAS operations within existing airport and air traffic control infrastructures
• Integrate airport operations with ATM network services to enhance predictability, situational awareness and resilience
• Improve environmental and operational performance via real-time monitoring and mitigation measures
• Enable secure, collaborative and cyber-resilient airport platforms
• Provide seamless passenger processing and intermodal transport integration
• Demonstrate safe IFR RPAS operations within existing airport and air traffic control infrastructures
Funded areas
Scope Requirements
Proposals must address one or more of the following illustrative R&I needs, justify any additional elements by their contribution to the expected outcomes, and ensure full alignment with the European ATM Master Plan:
• Centralised Lite APOC for regional airports: improve inbound, turnaround and outbound predictability via collaborative stakeholder information-sharing, NM digital services and simple cost-efficient algorithms; consider PJ.04-W2-28.2, RACINE, PEACOCK.
• Multi-airport AOP and performance monitoring: develop a common AOP for a group of small airports, establish collaboratively agreed targets (with local community participation), monitor group and individual performance and provide stakeholder-filtered access to performance data.
• Airport integration into UDPP and local DCB: integrate UDPP and airport-driven DCB in pre-flight planning to detect, analyse and coordinate local demand/capacity imbalances, allocate Target Times for Arrival (TTAs), reconcile constraints with NM network management, and leverage NOP/AOP data; consider PJ.07-02, PJ.07-W2-39, HARMONIC.
• Environmental performance management: embed environmental dashboards/cockpits within AOPs to monitor indicators (noise, emissions, etc.) from D-1 planning through execution, trigger mitigation measures and support collaborative decision-making; consider PJ.04-W2-29.3.
• Smart airports: integrate landside, groundside and ATM network planning; include vertiport operations; enable information-sharing of passenger/baggage outputs; apply BI/ML for resource alignment and dynamic plan adjustment; enhance cyber-resilience; develop seamless passenger processing; integrate intermodal transport data, performance cockpit and crisis management (Travel-Wise).
• IFR RPAS integration: identify RPAS-specific requirements, develop technological enablers and procedures for surface operations, tower system integration (voice/C2 latency, backup lines), multi-station handovers, contingency automation, context-sensitive displays, direct ATC-pilot communications, Class D/E CTR/TMA integration, and sustainable/autonomous taxi; consider PJ.03a-09, INVIRCAT, IRINA.
• Centralised Lite APOC for regional airports: improve inbound, turnaround and outbound predictability via collaborative stakeholder information-sharing, NM digital services and simple cost-efficient algorithms; consider PJ.04-W2-28.2, RACINE, PEACOCK.
• Multi-airport AOP and performance monitoring: develop a common AOP for a group of small airports, establish collaboratively agreed targets (with local community participation), monitor group and individual performance and provide stakeholder-filtered access to performance data.
• Airport integration into UDPP and local DCB: integrate UDPP and airport-driven DCB in pre-flight planning to detect, analyse and coordinate local demand/capacity imbalances, allocate Target Times for Arrival (TTAs), reconcile constraints with NM network management, and leverage NOP/AOP data; consider PJ.07-02, PJ.07-W2-39, HARMONIC.
• Environmental performance management: embed environmental dashboards/cockpits within AOPs to monitor indicators (noise, emissions, etc.) from D-1 planning through execution, trigger mitigation measures and support collaborative decision-making; consider PJ.04-W2-29.3.
• Smart airports: integrate landside, groundside and ATM network planning; include vertiport operations; enable information-sharing of passenger/baggage outputs; apply BI/ML for resource alignment and dynamic plan adjustment; enhance cyber-resilience; develop seamless passenger processing; integrate intermodal transport data, performance cockpit and crisis management (Travel-Wise).
• IFR RPAS integration: identify RPAS-specific requirements, develop technological enablers and procedures for surface operations, tower system integration (voice/C2 latency, backup lines), multi-station handovers, contingency automation, context-sensitive displays, direct ATC-pilot communications, Class D/E CTR/TMA integration, and sustainable/autonomous taxi; consider PJ.03a-09, INVIRCAT, IRINA.
Additional Conditions for Applicants
Special Conditions
• Single‐stage submission; opening 01 April 2025, deadline 16 September 2025 17:00 Brussels time
• Maximum duration: 36 months; funding rate: 70% for all beneficiaries; lump-sum model
• Must comply with Horizon Europe admissibility, eligibility and exclusion criteria (Work Programme General Annexes A–E, C)
• Subject to restrictions for protection of European communication networks
• Evaluation criteria and weighting: Excellence 40%, Impact 40%, Implementation 20%; committee may include EU internal experts
• Collaboration agreement required for linked actions (HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-IR-01, DES-ER-01)
• Additional dissemination obligations: proactive, royalty-free sharing of results with other grants under the same call
• Additional exploitation obligations: make results reusable under FAIR, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) conditions; royalty-free non-exclusive licence for standardisation; mutual access to background and results of linked actions
• Gender dimension integration not mandatory
• Maximum duration: 36 months; funding rate: 70% for all beneficiaries; lump-sum model
• Must comply with Horizon Europe admissibility, eligibility and exclusion criteria (Work Programme General Annexes A–E, C)
• Subject to restrictions for protection of European communication networks
• Evaluation criteria and weighting: Excellence 40%, Impact 40%, Implementation 20%; committee may include EU internal experts
• Collaboration agreement required for linked actions (HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-IR-01, DES-ER-01)
• Additional dissemination obligations: proactive, royalty-free sharing of results with other grants under the same call
• Additional exploitation obligations: make results reusable under FAIR, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) conditions; royalty-free non-exclusive licence for standardisation; mutual access to background and results of linked actions
• Gender dimension integration not mandatory
Important dates
Open from: 01/04/2025
Deadline:16/09/2025
Application period has ended
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