THIS PERIOD AT A GLANCE
The Network Operations Portal (NOP) is the single source of truth for active and forecast ATFM measures across the European network — a public NOP is freely accessible, with a protected NOP for organisations active in ATFM/AO/airport operations. (EUROCONTROL)
NM B2B web services let operators pull NOP data system-to-system, integrating live network status directly into flight-planning and ops systems. (EUROCONTROL)
NMP Flight is replacing the older CHMI toolset, adding custom alerts, critical-flight marking and real-time updates — worth knowing about as the operator-facing flight monitoring tool. (EUROCONTROL)
A TOOLKIT ISSUE, NOT A COUNTRY ISSUE
Every previous issue this summer has told you to “check the NM portal at T-2” or “plan to the published scenario.” This issue is the how-to behind that advice. The Network Manager’s tools are not just for ANSPs and big airlines — much of the most useful information is public, and the rest is accessible to any organisation genuinely engaged in operations. Used properly, these tools turn ATFM from something that happens to you into something you can see coming.
THE NETWORK OPERATIONS PORTAL (NOP)
The NOP is the heart of it. It carries the European Network Operations Plan — the rolling picture of demand, capacity, regulations and measures across the network. The public NOP, freely accessible, already shows the active ATFM regulations, the forecast pressure points and the network’s daily plan. (EUROCONTROL) For a flight planner, the discipline is simple: before you finalise a sector, look at what regulations are active or forecast along it. A regulation you can see at the planning stage is a reroute or a revised departure time you can build in; the same regulation discovered airborne is a hold.
The protected NOP, available to organisations active in ATFM and airline/airport operations, adds the deeper operational detail — the layer most operators will want access to if they fly the European network regularly. (EUROCONTROL)
B2B: PUTTING THE NETWORK INTO YOUR OWN SYSTEMS
For operators who want the data inside their own flight-planning or ops environment rather than via a browser, NM B2B web services are the answer. B2B is a system-to-system interface that exposes the NOP and NM services over the internet, supporting both request/reply (SOAP/XML) and publish/subscribe (AMQP) paradigms. (EUROCONTROL) In plain terms: your ops system can subscribe to the network picture and react to regulation changes automatically, rather than relying on a dispatcher refreshing a web page. For a growing operation, B2B integration is the step-change that makes ATFM awareness continuous rather than periodic.
NMP FLIGHT (THE NEW CHMI)
The operator-facing monitoring tool is also changing. NMP Flight is replacing the long-standing CHMI (Collaborative Human-Machine Interface) family, including the CIAO product aircraft operators have used. NMP Flight adds custom alerts, the ability to mark critical flights, and real-time updates. (EUROCONTROL) If your ops team still thinks in CHMI terms, the transition to NMP Flight is worth getting ahead of — the alerting and critical-flight features are exactly what a Turkish operator managing a delay-exposed European network wants.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER — A PRACTICAL WORKFLOW
The workflow this whole summer’s worth of advice implies is: (1) at schedule/plan stage, check the NOP for forecast measures along your sectors; (2) integrate B2B so the live picture flows into your ops system and updates automatically; (3) use NMP Flight to set alerts on your critical and delay-exposed flights so a new regulation reaches you the moment it is filed, not at T-2. Done consistently, this is what separates operators who absorb ATFM gracefully from those who are repeatedly surprised by it.
RISK WINDOWS — TOOLING SPECIFIC
CHMI-to-NMP-Flight transition: Make sure your ops team is trained on the new tool before peak rather than during it.
Access provisioning lead time: Protected NOP and B2B access take time to set up — start the process well ahead of when you need it.
THE OPERATOR ACTIONS
Build a standing pre-flight check of the public NOP into your dispatch workflow for every European sector.
If you fly the network regularly, pursue protected NOP and B2B access — the integration pays for itself the first time it reroutes you around a regulation automatically.
Migrate to NMP Flight deliberately and set alerts on your most delay-exposed flights.
FROM THE FLIGHT DECK
The recurring theme of this newsletter — file to the published scenario, check the portal at T-2, plan around the regulation — only works if you actually use the tools. The good news is that the most valuable layer, the public NOP, costs nothing and is open right now. The operators who treat the Network Manager’s tools as core infrastructure rather than as an occasional reference are the ones who turn ATFM from a source of surprises into a planning input. See the regulation before it sees you.
Clearance is published weekly through Summer 2026. Written by Cengehan Vefali, First Officer B737, Istanbul. Data sourced from Eurocontrol Network Manager, CODA delay statistics, and NOP rolling plan publications.