Our Marketplace Spotlight series focuses on the partners making the Yocova platform come alive – and the digital aviation solutions they provide. In this issue, we hear from Yocova partner Keyvan Aviation and the company’s Chief Executive Mehmet Keyvan, on how he sees the future of airspace management, how we can better achieve net zero commitments, and how the power of data will ultimately support these objectives.
Turkey-based Keyvan Aviation is the provider of a wide range of products and services to the aviation industry. Its wide-ranging solutions encompass flight operations and data analytics – providing a suite of intelligent data services to aircraft avionics manufacturers, airline flight operation departments, flight planning systems, simulators, helicopter and UAV operators, airports, governments, and military organisations.
Keyvan’s CEO and Chairman, Mehmet Keyvan, has over 20 years’ experience within the sector and he is setting his sights on expanding his operation to become one of Turkey’s leading aviation players with a strong global presence.
A view on the future of airspace management
Keyvan notes that the total global aircraft fleet currently sits at around 30,000, which includes commercial, cargo, business, helicopters, and military aircraft – albeit around 5,000 of these aircraft are currently grounded due to maintenance.
“We’ve seen a steady increase in airspace capacity on the back of the Reverse Vertical Separation Minimum since 1997, but importantly, with net zero in mind, that move has definitely delivered better overall fuel efficiencies for operators,” he explains.
“But for the industry to deliver on its net zero goals by 2050, we must recognise that we on the edge of a more significant and demonstrably more visible revolution for passengers, where we will ultimately move away from traditional turboprop and jet engine propulsion towards more sustainable aircraft powered by electric motors – leveraging enhanced battery and energy storage, lightweight composites, ever more sophisticated digital technologies, and even the prospect of pilotless flights.”
As evidence of this Keyvan cites the new types of electric and hybrid aircraft currently being developed that will be introduced to the market in the coming years, including Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) and Short Take-off and Landing (STOL) aircrafts.
“I think we will see eVTOL aircraft begin operations in the next two years or so, with commercial passenger and cargo operations arriving around 2026, and naturally their introduction will increase the number of aircraft in the skies.
“But to accommodate these new cleaner forms of aircraft in what is already a compressed operational airspace, we will require a new way of managing that airspace if we are to avoid disruption to existing aviation flight paths and schedules,” Keyvan adds.
According to Keyvan, the challenge is to fundamentally rethink how that airspace can accommodate both today’s commercial, military and helicopter aircraft together with the aircraft of tomorrow.
“It goes without saying that air traffic management providers will need to invest in new Unified Air Traffic Management capabilities, including information exchange and enhanced surveillance systems to ensure safe and secure air traffic control for all aircraft in the skies,” asserts Keyvan, “Furthermore digital data exchange methods like Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) and System-Wide Information Exchange (SWIM) will help to reduce the need for voice communications and keep frequencies free for aircraft emergencies. It is a big task, but together we can do it.”
Keyvan Aeronautical & Navigation Database
The importance of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs)
When it comes to carbon emissions, Keyvan notes that in 1996 annual global carbon dioxide emissions from aviation stood at around 250 million tonnes – and that number almost doubled by 1990, before leaping to 1.04 billion tonnes in 2018.
“It was clear that something needed to be done about those increasing emissions,” says Keyvan, and he welcomed the IATA’s decision in 2021 to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In order to achieve this ambitious target, the IATA strategy stated that 1.8 gigatons of carbon would need to be mitigated:
- 65% through sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs)
- 13% through new propulsion technology such as hydrogen and electrical systems
- 11% through carbon capture and storage
- 8% through offsets
- 3% through efficiency improvements
With such heavy emphasis on SAFs, Keyvan highlights the fact that fuel-producing companies have a difficult task ahead in actually being able to produce enough sustainable fuels to meet market demands – while also tackling limited production, investment costs, feedstock and accessibility challenges.
“I believe that better use of all the available data can make a significant contribution to improve operations and to support the sustainability chain, and that there are different layers of data that could feed into a powerful AI system to generate mutually beneficial results,” explains Keyvan. “The analysis of all aspects of the data infrastructure – such as airport ground mapping, moving plans, terrains and obstacle data, and flight procedures – could collectively contribute to delivering more efficient operations and a real reduction in fuel usage, thus contributing to our universal desire to see aviation reduce its carbon footprint globally.
Find out more about Keyvan Aviation
Keyvan Aviation currently has two services listed on the Yocova Marketplace.
- Keyvan’s Aeronautical and Navigation Database service provides global data for civil, governmental and private aviation..
- Whilst it’s Military and Governmental Solutions service is for governmental and military routes and zones and has the ability to include special activities and reduce risks and costs.
Keyvan is an EASA approved certified Type 1 DAT provider.
You can connect with Mehmet Keyvan on Yocova.
Author: Team Yocova
Published: 17 October 2023
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