ECFMP Integration

European flow management data integration via ECFMP

Download Markdown Interactive API Docs All Documentation

ECFMP VATSWIM Integration Guide

Integration guide for consuming ECFMP (European Collaborative Flow Management Programme) data via the VATSWIM API.

Overview

ECFMP provides flow control measures for European FIRs on VATSIM. VATSWIM polls the ECFMP API server-side and exposes the processed data through REST endpoints. External consumers read this data from VATSWIM rather than polling ECFMP directly.

Architecture

ECFMP API ──poll (300s)──> ecfmp_poll_daemon.php ──> tmi_flow_measures
                                                      tmi_flow_events
                                                      tmi_flow_providers
                                                           ↓
Consumers <────────────── GET /api/swim/v1/tmi/flow/* ────┘

Key point: ECFMP integration is read-only from the consumer's perspective. VATSWIM handles all polling, transformation, and storage.

Endpoints

All endpoints are READ-only and accept any valid SWIM API key.

Method	Path	Description
GET	`/api/swim/v1/tmi/flow/events.php`	Active flow events
GET	`/api/swim/v1/tmi/flow/measures.php`	Active flow measures
GET	`/api/swim/v1/tmi/flow/providers.php`	Registered flow providers

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`active`	`0\\|1`	`1`	Filter to active events/measures only
`fir`	string	-	Filter by FIR code (e.g., `EGTT`)
`provider`	string	-	Filter by provider code (e.g., `ECFMP`)

Flow Events

Flow events represent time-bounded flow management scenarios (e.g., "EGLL Arrival Congestion").

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer swim_dev_your_key" \
     "https://perti.vatcscc.org/api/swim/v1/tmi/flow/events.php?active=1"

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "event_id": 42,
      "provider_code": "ECFMP",
      "ecfmp_event_id": 12345,
      "name": "EGLL Arrival Congestion",
      "start_utc": "2026-03-06T14:00:00Z",
      "end_utc": "2026-03-06T18:00:00Z",
      "fir_codes": ["EGTT", "EGPX"],
      "status": "active",
      "created_at": "2026-03-06T13:45:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

Flow Measures

Flow measures are the specific restrictions applied during flow events.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer swim_dev_your_key" \
     "https://perti.vatcscc.org/api/swim/v1/tmi/flow/measures.php?active=1"

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "measure_id": 99,
      "event_id": 42,
      "ecfmp_measure_id": 67890,
      "measure_type": "MINIMUM_DEPARTURE_INTERVAL",
      "value": 10,
      "unit": "minutes",
      "affected_firs": ["EGTT"],
      "filters": {
        "airport_arrival": ["EGLL"],
        "level_above": 240
      },
      "start_utc": "2026-03-06T14:00:00Z",
      "end_utc": "2026-03-06T18:00:00Z",
      "status": "active"
    }
  ]
}

Measure Types

ECFMP flow measures are mapped to PERTI TMI concepts:

Measure Type	Description	Unit
`MINIMUM_DEPARTURE_INTERVAL`	MDI between departures	minutes
`AVERAGE_DEPARTURE_INTERVAL`	ADI target	minutes
`PER_HOUR`	Maximum flights per hour	flights/hour
`MILES_IN_TRAIL`	MIT spacing	nautical miles
`MAX_IAS`	Maximum indicated airspeed	knots
`MAX_MACH`	Maximum Mach number	mach
`IAS_REDUCTION`	IAS reduction from normal	knots
`MACH_REDUCTION`	Mach reduction from normal	mach
`GROUND_STOP`	Full ground stop	boolean
`PROHIBIT`	Traffic prohibition	boolean

Measure Filters

Measures can be scoped using filters:

Filter	Type	Description
`airport_arrival`	string[]	Arrival airports affected
`airport_departure`	string[]	Departure airports affected
`level_above`	integer	Minimum flight level (e.g., FL240)
`level_below`	integer	Maximum flight level
`member_event`	integer	ECFMP event ID
`member_not_event`	integer	Exclude event ID
`waypoint`	string[]	Waypoints that must be in the route

Provider Registry

Flow data providers are tracked in VATSWIM's tmi_flow_providers table. Currently registered providers:

Provider	Code	Sync Interval	Description
vATCSCC	`VATCSCC`	Internal	Local TMI programs (GDP/GS/AFP)
ECFMP	`ECFMP`	300s	European flow management

Becoming a Flow Provider

To register a new flow data provider (e.g., for a regional VATSIM facility):

Implement a REST API that returns flow events and measures in ECFMP-compatible format
Contact the vATCSCC development team with your API URL
Your provider will be added to tmi_flow_providers with appropriate sync configuration

Poll Daemon Details

VATSWIM's ecfmp_poll_daemon.php runs server-side:

Poll interval: 300 seconds (5 minutes)
External API: https://ecfmp.vatsim.net/api/v1
Circuit breaker: 6 errors in 60s triggers 180s cooldown
Data stored in: tmi_flow_events, tmi_flow_measures
Started by: scripts/startup.sh (runs during both normal and hibernation mode)

The daemon fetches all active events and measures, diffs against cached data, and only writes changes to the database.

Client SDK

A Python client library for reading ECFMP data from VATSWIM is available at integrations/connectors/ecfmp/.

from vatswim_connector import VATSWIMConnector

connector = VATSWIMConnector("swim_dev_your_key_here")

events = connector.get_flow_events()
measures = connector.get_flow_measures()
providers = connector.get_flow_providers()