The European Commission has approved €329 million ($363.5 million) to co-fund air traffic management (ATM) projects in Europe, an industrial partnership announced on July 13. The co-funding will support €650 million in public and private investment to implement the first projects identified for ATM modernization, the alliance said.

“This financial support is crucial to kick-start the industry investment needed for the modernization of ATM. We are here to support the industry and to coordinate all funded implementation projects,” said Massimo Garbini, who leads the alliance known as the Single European Sky ATM Research (Sesar) Deployment Manager.

European Union co-funding was made available through a transportation infrastructure fund called the Connecting Europe Facility. The Brussels-based Sesar Deployment Manager is an alliance of airlines, air navigation service providers and airports the EC designated in December to implement ATM modernization. The alliance delivered its first modernization plan to the commission on June 29 identifying the first projects industry will perform.