This paper explores the integration of advanced cryptographic techniques for secure computation in data spaces to enable secure and trusted data sharing, which is essential for the evolving data economy. In addition, the paper examines the role of data intermediaries, as outlined in the EU Data Governance Act, in data spaces and specifically introduces the idea of trustless intermediaries that do not have access to their users' data. Therefore, we exploit the introduced secure computation methods, i.e. Secure Multi-Party Computation (MPC) and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), and discuss the security benefits. Overall, we identify and address key challenges for integration, focusing on areas such as identity management, policy enforcement, node selection, and access control, and present solutions through real-world use cases, including air traffic management, manufacturing, and secondary data use. Furthermore, through the analysis of practical applications, this work proposes a comprehensive framework for the implementation and standardization of secure computing technologies in dynamic, trustless data environments, paving the way for future research and development of a secure and interoperable data ecosystem.
The transition of aeronautical communications from legacy analog infrastructures to Internet Protocol (IP)-based Voice over IP (VoIP) architectures represents a fundamental paradigm shift in Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems. This transition is necessitated by the need for increased scalability, modernization of communication services, and the decommissioning of traditional leased-line circuits. However, the move to digital packets introduces cumulative technical latencies that can potentially compromise the safety of the half-duplex ATC radio communications. This study evaluates the impact of these latencies on the critical carrier sense capability relied upon by pilots and controllers. This analysis establishes an analytical model for cumulative Audio Delay by decomposing the digital signal chain into discrete stochastic and deterministic components.We introduce the concept of a temporal vulnerability window, defining the period of state divergence between network nodes where the "carrier-sense" mechanism is technically blind. By modeling transmission arrivals as a Poisson process, we derive a stochastic expression for step-on probability as a function of technical latency and sector traffic density. This theoretical framework demonstrates how VoIP-induced delays can impact the "Human-in-the-Loop CSMA/CD" protocol, leading to instructional corruption because of step-on events.
While mathematical models act as vital decision support systems for operational Air Traffic Flow and Capacity Management (ATFCM), existing approaches isolate Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) from Dynamic Airspace Configuration (DAC). This separation introduces an unresolved circular dependency between fixed-demand and fixed-capacity assumptions. Although joint optimization resolves this gap, the enlarged search space renders exact models computationally intractable for medium- to large-scale instances. To bridge this gap, we propose ASPaeroFlow: a heuristic for the joint ATFCM; it combines instance-space decomposition heuristics with a local exact approach using Answer Set Programming. We benchmark ASPaeroFlow from small to industry-sized instances and compare it with exact and alternative approaches. The results indicate that (1) the heuristic provides a computational middle ground between exact methods and operational baselines; (2) simultaneous optimization can outperform sequential optimization on joint ATFCM; and (3) an ablation study indicates that DAC has a larger impact on solution quality than flow measures.
Current Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems for enroute and Terminal Maneuvering Area (TMA) operations are monolithic, vendor-specific, and built on proprietary middleware, limiting scalability, innovation, and cost-efficiency. In Europe, 80% of the Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) consider their current architecture not-fit-for-purpose, when asked about the readiness to cope with future challenges such as increased traffic growth or rising cybersecurity and resilience demands. Today, expectations have evolved toward service-oriented architectures, emphasizing interoperability, portability, and service interchangeability. The currently ongoing global ATM modernization is increasingly defined by the transition to info centric, service oriented, cloud native architectures. Both the U.S. Info centric NAS framework and the European New Service Delivery Model (NSDM) emphasize standardized information models, decoupled functional services, and dynamic composability across distributed, safety critical environments. These developments mark a shift from monolithic, tightly coupled ATM systems to federated, high assurance, microservice based ecosystems capable of supporting evolving operational concepts.Next generation platforms leverage containerized microservices orchestrated via control planes to deploy operational functions with fine grained scalability and fault isolation. Core components include 4D trajectory management services, deterministic real time data distribution backbones implementing publish/subscribe and request/response interaction patterns, and AI augmented automation modules constrained by safety oriented training data. High integrity performance is achieved through time bounded message sequencing, state synchronization protocols, and consistency preserving replication strategies that maintain a unified airspace picture across ANSP boundaries. Concepts such as Zero-Trust Architecture, Defense in Depth, and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) are becoming essential, influencing system design at the core level.Support for Trajectory Based Operations (TBO) is realized through standardized trajectory schemas aligned with FIXM/FF ICE, continuous 4D trajectory updates, and cross domain sharing over SWIM compliant interfaces. Cloud native execution environments utilize service meshes, zero trust security patterns, latency-, jitter-, and packet loss monitoring in real time. Elastic compute scaling is driven by traffic complexity metrics and demand forecasting models, ensuring deterministic system behavior under variable load conditions.Next generation digital platforms will consolidate surveillance/automation modules, runway/approach optimization services, voice communication services (VCS), among others within a unified microservice architecture. Such platforms apply composable service constructs (CSC). These include standardized API contracts, container based deployment units, and identity aware authorization policies to integrate multi vendor components without compromising certification pathways. Continuous Verification and Validation (V&V) processes use automated regression testing, static/dynamic code analysis, container attestation, and safety constraint enforcement within continuous integration / continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines adapted for safety critical domains.Cybersecurity and safety assurance are implemented through runtime service isolation, hardware rooted trust anchors, cryptographic domain segmentation, and cross domain guards to enforce controlled information exchange. Integrated monitoring frameworks employ anomaly detection ML models to identify deviations in controller interactions, trajectory states, or network behavior. Alignment with the European ATM Master Plan supports capabilities such as dynamic airspace configuration, multi node decision support orchestration, and standardized air ground communication services.The adoption of composability as a foundational engineering principle enables rapid integration of advanced operational capabilities including digital/remote tower services, AI supported conflict detection and resolution, AMAN/DMAN sequencing, and cloud based separation assurance functions. Modular architectures reduce functional coupling, support container level failover, and ensure deterministic fail safe operation under partial degradation scenarios. Multi cloud and hybrid deployments provide geographic redundancy, latency optimized routing, and cross regional federation of ATS services.The shift toward info centric, cloud native, and composable service architectures establishes a robust technical foundation for global ATM modernization. Through standardized data models, microservice orchestration, SWIM based interoperability, and AI enhanced automation, future ATM systems achieve deterministic performance, enhanced resilience, and scalable cross border operations. These architectures form a harmonized blueprint for modernization, delivering measurable improvements in safety, efficiency, and environmental performance.
In air traffic flow management (ATFM), the EUROCONTROL Network Manager regulates flights in the case of unexpected events that temporarily reduce airport capacity. In this case, regulated flights receive a new target time of arrival (TTA) following a first-planned, first-served approach. These regulations typically result in flight delays and additional delay costs for airspace users (AUs) and the arrival airport. The HARMONIC project, which is funded by the SESAR Joint Undertaking within the EU Horizon Europe program, develops, among others, a Target Time Management System (TTMS) to enable collaborative flight prioritization and optimization based on preferences of the AUs and the airport. The TTMS was successfully tested in live trials at Zurich Airport, with results indicating increased arrival punctuality and fewer missed connections. Although short-term inequity is acceptable to improve overall efficiency in a given situation, the TTMS shall ensure long-term equity, i.e., no AU is favored or disfavored compared to the others over time. In this regard, one challenge is to design an Equity Mechanism as part of the TTMS to ensure long-term equity across AUs. In this paper, we introduce an Equity Mechanism that modifies the preferences of AUs. We investigate various configurations of three different strategies for adjusting the preferences of AUs with the Equity Mechanism. We use the Theil index to measure inequity and preferences from 51 regulations obtained during the live trials at Zurich Airport for re-running each optimization in a controlled lab environment. Our results show that some configurations of the Equity Mechanism can reduce the Theil index over time, i.e., successfully improve long-term equity, while having only a minor impact on the quality of the flight lists found by the TTMS.
