Recently, I had the opportunity of sitting down with Pawel Sobolewski from Tern Systems. Pawel is the Product Manager of Nexus, a new general information system designed for Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). Pawel, drawing on his experience as both a user and systems designer, highlighted the core issue Nexus tackles: the fragmentation of information systems within ANSPs.
My own background, as a software engineer who started with Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems, made this conversation particularly interesting. I recall my early work with Skyguide on a general information system similar to Nexus. It’s a space where every ANSP seems to have its own bespoke solution, often developed in-house and consisting of various different systems, Excel sheets and even paper documents. As Pawel, with his experience from PANSA, pointed out, these systems, while effective, are often hard to maintain and difficult to expand. This is where Nexus steps in, offering a commercially built, adaptable framework.
Addressing Diverse Needs
There is a big challenge when transitioning from paper-based systems to digital platforms that are both efficient and user-friendly. The key takeaway is the necessity for a system to provide crucial information quickly and without distracting controllers from their primary task – managing air traffic.
“Every ANSP has some kind of system,” Pawel explains, “but they are usually single-purpose, in-house and hard to maintain. They’re not flexible enough for today’s connected ATM environment.”
This brought us to the core challenge: how to develop Nexus to be adaptable enough to compete with these highly tailored, in-house systems. Pawel’s response was insightful. He emphasised the shift towards modern user experiences, drawing parallels with the responsiveness and context-awareness of mobile devices. Nexus is designed to be flexible, allowing administrators, who don’t need to be technical experts, to customise the system to their organisation’s specific needs. This adaptability includes features like customisable tabs and apps, and ensures that Nexus can address existing use cases while offering a modern, intuitive interface.
Empowering Users and Ensuring Security
Ease of use is at the core of Nexus. From visualising key operational information to enabling emergency checklists with full audit trails, the system is designed to declutter the ops room and reduce the cognitive load on ATCOs and supervisors.
Drawing inspiration from the everyday digital experiences of users, Nexus is built to mirror the familiarity and responsiveness of modern apps on smartphones and tablets. Its sleek interface and intuitive design aim to reduce the learning curve, making it feel more like using a consumer app than a legacy Air Traffic Management (ATM) tool.
“We’re empowering users to shape their own system without having to come back to us for every little change,” says Pawel. “That’s how we compete with heavily customised in-house solutions.”
It’s not just about convenience, it’s also about safety and trust. Nexus is built to SWAL 4 standards and is ISO 27001-compliant. With granular role management and strict access control, sensitive information is only visible to those who need it.
Site Acceptance Test at HungaroControl this summer
With its first operational SAT at HungaroControl scheduled for June this year, Nexus is gaining traction. Tern Systems and HungaroControl have already signed a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) Certificate for Nexus last year and a Site Acceptance Test is planned in June 2025. Pawel told me that the FAT had gone well and confirmed that the Nexus system is performing in accordance with the initial system and design requirements. Pawel also wanted to emphasise how important collaboration with ANSPs were for Tern Systems and noted that since 2020, HungaroControl has been a key development partner of Tern Systems, joining Isavia ANS, which has collaborated with Tern Systems for nearly three decades.
Nexus is also designed to work in close coordination with the main ATM system, such as Tern’s Polaris ATM, enabling a coherent and integrated operational experience. By offloading non-critical information into Nexus, the main ATM display remains focused and decluttered. Additionally, the Nexus API server allows seamless function calls directly from the main ATM system’s graphical user interface, further enhancing interoperability and user experience.
Looking Ahead: Briefings, AI, and Sustainability
A new module, Nexus Briefing, will soon allow users to prepare for shifts in advance by selecting relevant documents, NOTAMs or procedures, and then access them at their operational position. And with increasing interest in artificial intelligence (AI), Tern is exploring how intelligent agents could help distill vast amounts of data into actionable, context-aware insights to support Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO).
“In a TBO world, we need systems that keep the human in the loop,” Pawel says. “AI will help us surface the right information at the right time, without the clutter.”
Sustainability also plays a part. By digitising briefing processes and documentation, Nexus contributes to the move away from paper in the ops room—reducing waste and increasing trust in data validity.
The focus on user-friendliness, adaptability, and security makes Nexus a promising solution for ANSPs looking to modernise their information systems.
As we concluded our discussion, it was clear that Pawel and the team at Tern Systems are passionate about creating a system that not only meets the functional requirements of ANSPs but also enhances the user experience.
About Tern Systems
Owned by ISAVIA ANS, Tern Systems designs and builds ATM software solutions, with nearly three decades of deliveries to customers across Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa. Tern Systems is headquartered in Iceland and has offices in Hungary and Poland.
