ARCADE project kicks off in Rome to strengthen airport resilience and multimodal disruption management

Rome, June 15 – 16, 2026 – The ARCADE project – Airport Resilience, Crisis Adaptation and Disruption Escalation Prevention – officially launched its activities with a Kick-off Meeting in Rome, bringing together project partners and representatives of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking.

ARCADE consortium

ARCADE aims to develop a coherent set of information systems and decision-support tools enabling better information sharing, common situational awareness and collaborative decision-making between airports and surface transport stakeholders. By connecting information across air, rail and road transport, the project seeks to improve the predictability of airport operations, strengthen disruption and crisis management, support more efficient use of airport resources and enhance the passenger experience.

The 36-month project brings together 14 partners and will develop two complementary SESAR Solutions: Solution A – Integrated Multimodal Performance Cockpit and Proactive Disruption Management, and Solution B – Multimodal Network Crisis Management. Both solutions are expected to progress from Technology Readiness Level 2 towards TRL 6 during the project.

From local disruption management to network-wide crisis response

Solution A will provide airports with a shared multimodal view of airport operations and surface access, linking information from aviation, rail, road and other transport services. Its analytical tools will combine descriptive, predictive and prescriptive capabilities to anticipate disruption, support operational decision-making and provide timely information and recommendations to passengers. Particular attention will be given to the needs of Passengers with Reduced Mobility.

The solution will be validated at three European airports – Stockholm Arlanda, Milan Malpensa and Athens International Airport – representing different operational environments and multimodal connectivity challenges.

Solution B will expand this approach to the network level, strengthening multimodal crisis-management capabilities and exploring how information on surface transport, airport accessibility and passenger needs can support decision-making during major disruption scenarios such as mass diversions or cancellations. The solution will investigate how multimodal information can complement existing network-management capabilities and support the assessment of alternative airports and onward transport options for affected passengers.

Aligning the consortium around the work ahead

During the Kick-off Meeting, partners reviewed the overall project structure, technical approach and validation strategy, as well as project management, grant implementation and communication requirements.

The SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking highlighted the importance of ensuring strong coordination between the different Work Packages, clearly identifying dependencies with other relevant projects and initiatives, and maintaining coherence between the project's operational concepts, technical specifications and validation activities. The consortium also discussed the importance of building on existing knowledge and avoiding overlaps with related work.

Technical sessions focused on the development of Solutions A and B, including data requirements, system architecture, passenger-flow modelling, multimodal information exchange, validation activities and the operational needs of the project's pilot sites.

The second day of the meeting was dedicated to a collaborative workshop supporting the early development of the two solutions and helping partners define operational environments, use cases, available data and technical requirements.

Building visibility and stakeholder engagement from the start

The Advisory Board will bring external expertise into the project, with potential representation from airport operators, airlines, rail operators, European institutions, transport authorities and European transport associations. Its contribution will help ensure that the solutions developed within ARCADE respond to real operational needs and benefit from perspectives beyond the project consortium.

Following the Kick-off Meeting, the consortium has moved into the first phase of implementation, with an immediate focus on stakeholder and user requirements, data availability, operational use cases, technical specifications, standardisation and regulatory considerations.

Over the next three years, ARCADE will work towards a more connected approach to airport and transport-network resilience – enabling airports, surface transport operators and network stakeholders to better anticipate disruptions, coordinate their response and support passengers throughout their journey.

About ARCADE

ARCADE – Airport Resilience, Crisis Adaptation and Disruption Escalation Prevention – is a SESAR research and innovation project funded under Grant Agreement No. 101288896. The project started on 1 June 2026 and will run for 36 months, until 31 May 2029.

The project brings together 14 partners to develop and validate innovative solutions for multimodal airport operations, proactive disruption management and network-level crisis management.