Air traffic across Europe is again growing strongly following a decrease in air traffic in the wake of the 9/11 2001 terrorist attack in the USA. This constitutes a double challenge for European air transport. On the one hand, air transport increases every single year - both in the number of aircraft and in the number of different routes. Passengers are becoming more and more quality-conscious and expect, and rightly so, that safety, quality and on-time performance will be provided. Air transport is becoming more and more important for individuals and for business economies as more and more people are flying.

On the other hand, air traffic control in European airspace is only in the first phase of a long-term, comprehensive modernization. The modernization marks a movement away from national towards European concepts. The movement involves political, organizational and, not least, technical aspects. Most air navigation organizations are still nationally based and are subject to slow political and organizational development. Standardization of regulations and safety standards and documentation has come some distance, but many standards and regulations are still based on national or even local requirements and preferences. This means that we are only just beginning to be able to establish uniform standardized information-processing platforms, programs and systems. Naviair has the goal of being one of the front runners in internationalization and standardization.