SWIM & FF-ICE/R1 in practice,
reflections from Magnus Molbaek’s presentation at the ATSEP Seminar
During Entry Point North’s recent ATSEP Seminar, Magnus Molbaek (: AF5 SWIM Expert and Team Leader – SESAR deployment Manager) delivered a presentation that stayed with many in the room long after the session ended. Not because it introduced unfamiliar concepts, but because it articulated the scale and depth of change that will come.
SWIM (System wide Information Management) is often discussed through standards, timelines, and regulatory milestones. Magnus chose to focus elsewhere. His presentation explored what happens when those requirements meet real systems, real architecture, and real people.
Rather than framing SWIM as a single initiative, he described it as a shift that cuts across how information is exchanged, secured and ultimately used throughout aviation.
What changes when SWIM meets existing systems
At its core, the transition driven by SWIM changes how information moves between stakeholders. Data that was once handled through documents, messages and bilateral connections is increasingly shared as structured, machine-readable services. This applies across aeronautical information, flight information, meteorology and flow management.
Magnus illustrated how this shift challenges the basis upon which many systems were built. Systems that have evolved over decades are often tightly integrated and optimized for older communication models. Introducing service-based data flows challenges those foundations. In some cases, systems can be adapted. In others, deeper transformation becomes unavoidable.
A particularly clear example is the move towards enhanced flight plans. Under FF-ICE, a new extended flight plan format (eFPL) will be introduced, gradually replacing the legacy FPL2012. This new format requires Airspace Users (AUs) to provide more detailed and timely data, which will be integrated into ground systems. By leveraging this richer data set, ANSPs and other stakeholders can achieve an easier access to data, greater data accuracy and predictability. Ultimately, this supports the concept of a single, agreed-upon trajectory that is consistent for all involved in the ATM process. With richer content, expanded routing, time elements and aircraft specific performance data, the potential operational benefits are evident. Trajectory prediction can become more accurate and flow management more informed. But Magnus was careful to stress that this value is not automatic. The benefit does not come from receiving more data, but from being able to interpret it correctly and apply it within operational processes. Without that capability, enhanced information risks becoming noise rather than support.
As information exchange becomes more service oriented and increasingly relies on IP based connectivity, security moves from being an underlying assumption to a central design concern. Trust, authentication and certification frameworks are no longer peripheral topics. They are essential enablers. Magnus highlighted that secure information exchange is not an optional enhancement, but a prerequisite for reliable and safe operations in this new environment.
Beyond technology, an organisational transition
Perhaps the strongest message from Magnus’ presentation was that SWIM should not be approached as a purely technical exercise. The real challenge lies in organisational readiness.
New ways of exchanging information require new competencies. Service oriented thinking replaces system centric perspectives. Understanding data flows becomes as important as understanding individual interfaces. Integration, collaboration and cross functional awareness take on greater significance.
Many organisations are discovering that existing roles and training paths do not fully cover these needs. This gap is not a failure, but a signal that the operating environment is evolving.
At Entry Point North, the ATSEP Seminar is designed as a forum to explore exactly these kinds of shifts. Not to promote predefined solutions, but to create space for shared reflection on consequences, readiness and competence. By bringing practitioners and experts together, the aim is to connect regulatory intent with operational reality.
SWIM is already shaping how aviation information is exchanged. Ensuring that systems, organisations and people evolve together is now the task ahead.
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