Scaling Europe’s Air Traffic Management Into the Cloud Era

The Challenge 

Our client became one of the core technology partners responsible for modernizing the operating systems that manage Europe’s air traffic network. They headed a large-scale initiative to enhance the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of continental aviation. The project involved a new generation of technologies, including virtualization, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and machine learning. This system is a key part of transforming European airspace, and its goal is to make air travel across the region smarter, greener, and more connected than anywhere else in the world.

The project is the first stage of a broader vision to create a unified and optimised digital airspace. As part of this effort, the client needed support in replacing ageing legacy systems used in managing European air traffic operations with scalable, future-ready technology. As a strategic partner, we were engaged in the modernization of existing Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems. We also introduced container-based applications and microservices platforms and ensured a seamless user experience across both frontend and backend systems.

The Solution

The Scalefocus team, consisting of approximately 50 professionals, played a key role in the project, with members across various roles including architects, delivery managers, business analysts, scrum masters, software and quality engineers. These specialists worked collaboratively, both internally and with other vendors, to ensure the project’s success. The majority of the team were senior-level experts due to the complex nature of the domain. Given the significant impact of the project, particularly as it involved the airspace over Europe, the team’s contributions were critical in delivering a solution that met the highest standards of quality and performance.

Scalefocus supported the modernization of a PIB, FPL, METEO and other digital projects. The solution leveraged Quarkus for its lightweight design and robust out-of-the-box features, which fit well with the goals of cloud-native performance and cost efficiency. Based on this setup, we built a scalable microservices architecture using Java with Quarkus on the backend and React.js on the frontend. This helped ensure modular development, strong performance, and easy integration with modern cloud infrastructure.

To manage these containerized applications optimally, we leveraged Kubernetes and OpenShift, which ensured robust deployment workflows and high availability across environments. Our microservices approach made the system more flexible, easier to maintain, and better equipped to handle future growth.

The Results 

Scalefocus played a key role in supporting our client’s efforts to modernize the operational systems behind one of Europe’s largest air traffic management networks. By leveraging cloud computing, virtualization, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced flight plan processing, we helped streamline complex aviation operations, which improved punctuality and reduced CO₂ emissions.

This large-scale system modernization enabled more accurate flight operations planning, resulting in better scheduling and enhanced sustainability across the network. It also led to improved coordination and stronger forecasting capabilities for air traffic demands.

Scalefocus’s contribution was instrumental in driving a long-term digital transformation that advances the safety, efficiency, and environmental performance of European airspace operations.

Our team drove a transformation that will benefit both the aviation industry and the environment, and achieved the following key deliverables:

• Enhanced flexibility, scalability, and performance of the ATM systems by transforming them into a modernized architecture
• Seamless, user-friendly interface with improved usability for both civil and military air navigation service providers, government agencies, civil aviation authorities, and airlines
• Fully digitalized management of aeronautical information, including airspace structure, sectors, airways, and available assets
• Automated and agile data updates, ensuring real-time accuracy of airspace conditions and military restrictions
• Improved air traffic flow and better coordination among stakeholders due to more accurate and up-to-date information