- ADS
means services consisting in the collection, aggregation and integration of operational data from providers of surveillance services, from providers of MET and AIS and network functions and from other relevant entities generating operational data, and the provision of processed data for air traffic control and air traffic management purposes;
- aerodrome control service
means an air traffic control (ATC) service for aerodrome traffic;
- Agency
means the European Union Aviation Safety Agency established by Regulation (EU) 2018/1139;
- air navigation service provider
means a public or private entity providing one or more air navigation services for general air traffic;
- air traffic services
means the various flight information services, alerting services and air traffic advisory services, as well as ATC services, namely area, approach and aerodrome control services;
- airspace block
means an airspace of defined dimensions, in space and time, consisting of one or more airspace structures, within which air navigation services are provided;
- airspace management
means a planning and monitoring function with the primary objective of optimising the utilisation of available airspace by dynamic time-sharing and, at times, the segregation of airspace among various categories of airspace users on the basis of short-term needs;
- airspace structure
means a specific volume of airspace defined with a view to ensuring the safe and optimal operation of aircraft;
- airspace users
means operators of aircraft operated in accordance with general air traffic rules;
- AIS
means a service, established within a defined area of coverage, responsible for the provision of aeronautical information and data necessary for the safety, regularity, and efficiency of air navigation;
- alerting service
means a service provided to notify relevant organisations regarding aircraft in need of search and rescue aid, and to assist such organisations as required;
- ANS
means air traffic services;
- approach control service
means an ATC service for arriving or departing controlled flights;
- area control service
means an ATC service for controlled flights in control areas;
- ATFM
means a function established with the objective of contributing to a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic covering the full trajectory by ensuring that ATC capacity is utilised to the maximum extent possible, and that the traffic volume is compatible with the capacities declared by the appropriate air traffic service providers;
- ATM
means the aggregation of the airborne and ground-based functions and services, namely air traffic services, airspace management and air traffic flow management, including flight procedures design, required to ensure the safe and efficient movement of aircraft during all phases of operations;
- baseline value
means a value defined for the purpose of setting performance targets and estimated by using actual costs or actual unit costs during the year preceding the start of the relevant reference period;
- benchmark group
means a group of air traffic service providers with a similar operational and economic environment;
- breakdown value
means the value obtained, for a given air traffic service provider, by breaking down a Union-wide performance target to the level of one or more air traffic service providers and serving as a reference for assessing consistency of the performance target set in the draft performance plan with the Union-wide performance target;
- certificate
means a ‘certificate’ as defined in Article 3, point (12), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139;
- CIS
means a service consisting in the dissemination of static and dynamic data to enable the provision of U-space services for the management of traffic of unmanned aircraft;
- communication services
means aeronautical fixed and mobile services to enable ground-to-ground, air-to-ground and air-to-air communications for ATC purposes;
- constituents
means tangible objects, such as hardware, and intangible objects, such as software, upon which the interoperability of the European air traffic management network (EATMN) depends;
- control area
means a controlled airspace extending upwards from a specified limit above the earth;
- cooperative decision-making
means a process in which decisions are made based on interaction and consultation with the relevant Member State authorities, operational stakeholders and other actors, as appropriate, and aiming to achieve consensus;
- cross-border services
means air navigation services provided in one Member State by a service provider having its principal place of business in another Member State;
- declaration
means, for the purposes of air traffic management and air navigation services, a ‘declaration’ as defined in Article 3, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139;
- design of airspace structures
means a process that ensures the development and implementation of advanced navigational capabilities and techniques, improved route networks and associated sectorisation, optimised airspace structures and capacity-enhancing ATM procedures;
- en route charging zone
means a volume of airspace that extends from the ground up to, and including, upper airspace, where en route air navigation services are provided and for which a single cost base is established;
- European air traffic management network
(EATMN) means the collection of systems, referred to in point 3.1 of Annex VIII to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, enabling air navigation services in the Union to be provided, including the interfaces at boundaries with third countries;
- European ATM Master Plan
means the plan endorsed by Council Decision 2009/320/EC, as subsequently amended;
- flexible use of airspace
means an airspace management concept, as described by ICAO, based on the fundamental principle that airspace should not be designated as either pure civil or military airspace, but should rather be considered as a continuum in which all user requirements have to be accommodated to the extent possible;
- flight information service
means a service provided for the purpose of giving advice and information useful for the safe and efficient conduct of flights;
- flight procedures design
means all tasks relevant to the design of an instrument flight procedure;
- general air traffic
means all movements of civil aircraft, as well as all movements of state aircraft (including military, customs and police aircraft) when those movements are carried out in conformity with the procedures of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) as established by the Chicago Convention;
- interoperability
means a set of functional, technical and operational properties required of the systems and constituents of the EATMN and of the procedures for its operation, in order to enable its safe, seamless and efficient operation;
- MET
means the facilities and services that provide meteorological forecasts, warnings, briefings and observations for air navigation purposes, as well as any other meteorological information and data provided by States for aeronautical use;
- national competent authority
means one or more entities designated by a Member State and having the necessary powers and allocated responsibilities for performing the tasks related to certification, oversight and enforcement in accordance with this Regulation and with the delegated and implementing acts adopted on the basis thereof;’
- national supervisory authority
means the national body or bodies entrusted by a Member State with the tasks under this Regulation;
- navigation services
means the facilities and services that provide aircraft with positioning and timing information;
- network crisis
means a state of inability to provide air traffic management or air navigation services at the required level, resulting in a major loss of network capacity;
- Network Manager
means the entity entrusted with the tasks necessary to contribute to the execution, in accordance with Article 38, of the network functions referred to in Article 37;
- NOP
means a plan established through cooperative decision-making process to implement at operational level the objectives of the network functions, and to contribute to performance objectives;
- NSP
means a plan established through cooperative decision-making process guiding the network’s long-term development;
- operational air traffic
means all flights, which do not comply with the provisions stated for general air traffic and for which rules and procedures have been specified by appropriate national authorities;
- operational data
means information concerning all phases of flight that is required for operational purposes by air navigation service providers, airspace users, airport operators and other actors involved;
- operational stakeholders
means the civil and military airspace users, civil and military air navigation service providers and airport operators;
- performance plan
means a plan aimed at improving the performance of air navigation services and network functions;
- putting into service
means the first operational use after the initial installation or upgrade of a system;
- route network
means a network of specified routes for channelling the flow of general air traffic as necessary for the provision of ATC services;
- Single European Sky airspace
means airspace above the territory to which the Treaties apply, as well as any other airspace where Member States apply Regulation (EU) 2024/2803 in accordance with Article 1(4) of that Regulation;
- surveillance services
means the facilities and services used to determine the respective positions of aircraft to allow safe separation;
- system
means the aggregation of airborne and ground-based constituents, as well as space-based equipment, that provides support for air navigation services for all phases of flight;
- terminal charging zone
means an airport or a group of airports located within the territories of a Member State or Member States, where terminal air navigation services are provided and for which a single cost base is established;
- upgrade
means any modification that changes the operational characteristics of a system;
- utilisation of airspace structures
means the way that airspace structures are operationally used, which is to be understood as different from airspace management as defined in point 12.