Ireland at the forefront of European aviation coding practice
The IAA has implemented the new CCAMS code assignment system, helping Ireland to maintain its position at the forefront of air traffic management (ATM) practice in Europe. All flights must be tagged with a SSR (Secondary Surveillance Radar) code to enable them to be identified and tracked on radar.
CCAMS stands for Centralised Code Assignment and Management System and is a cooperative European initiative that greatly improves the way the SSR codes are distributed and assigned.
CCAMS will optimise the efficiency and safety of European SSR code management by centrally selecting an SSR code for each flight within its area of applicability, using an intelligent algorithm and distributing it to the appropriate ATS unit. The service will be provided from a dedicated CCAMS office which is located in the Network Manager Operations Centre (NMOC) in Eurocontrol.
CCAMS was introduced to meet the need for unambiguous and continuous aircraft identification in light of the massive growth in air travel in Europe over the last decade. Before CCAMS, the SSR codes had to be changed frequently to avoid code conflict and a potential loss of identification.
Implementing the new system required the IAA to modify its ATM systems to accommodate the CCAMS standards. This involved agreeing the software specification and schedule of delivery with our Coopans partners and equipment provider Thales. Many months of offline testing of the new functionality was performed in conjunction with the CFMU CCAMS system and the functionality was finally introduced in Shannon and Cork on the 14th May 2012 and on the 21st May 2012 in Dublin.
Ireland is one of the first countries in Europe to introduce CCAMS with the others being Ukraine, Bulgaria and Norway. 14 more countries have committed to joining CCAMS in the next two years.