1. SWIM Information Definition Handbook
  2. Resources for information definitions

Using the AIRM

Last updated:  JANUARY 14th, 2020

This section gives a very quick overview of the AIRM in order to help those creating the semantic correspondences. It is in no way an exhaustive tutorial on the AIRM.

Page Table of Content


The latest AIRM

The latest version of the AIRM is available at www.airm.aero. It comes in several formats:

  • AIRM UML as a Sparx Enterprise Architect file
  • An online viewer without diagrams
  • An XMI export of the AIRM that can be imported into another UML modelling tool

Components of the AIRM

The semantic correspondence author will look at:

  • The AIRM Conceptual Model - this contains the operational language. It only contains information concepts. As such, it is very useful for those writing information exchange requirements.
  • The AIRM Logical Model - this contains information concepts and data concepts. It is most useful for those writing service payloads and other technical artefacts.

The AIRM Contextual Model contains the basic types used in the AIRM so is important for SWIM-INFO-012.

It should be clear that it is best to start looking in the Logical Model when the information definition is supporting a service description.

AIRM's unique identifiers

Each element in the AIRM has a unique identifier. This is crucial to the semantic correspondence requirements. The unique identifier comes in the form of a URN. There is a lot of information contained in the URN.

urn:aero:airm:1.0.0:LogicalModel:Subjects:BaseInfrastructure:AerodromeInfrastructure:Aerodrome
urn:aero:airm:1.0.0:LogicalModel:Subjects:BaseInfrastructure:AerodromeInfrastructure:Aerodrome@locationIndicatorICAO

You will see that the URN contains:

  • 1.0.0. This is the version number.
  • LogicalModel. This is the part of the AIRM in which the element resides. In this case it is the logical model.
  • Subjects:BaseInfrastructure:AerodromeInfrastructure. This is the subject/package structure in which the element resides.
  • Aerodrome. This is the name of the AIRM information concept.
  • @locationIndicatorICAO. This is the name of the AIRM data concept. In effect, it is an attribute of Aerodrome in this case.

The following shows where to find the URN field in the different formats in which the AIRM is published.

AIRM UML

In the AIRM UML model, the URN is stored as a tagged value. In Sparx Enterprise Architect this is accessed in the properties of the class/property. It is possible to copy this value.

AIRM Viewer

In the online AIRM viewer, the URN is given as an entry "urn:".

AIRM change management

AIRM Community

Change requests are managed on the AIRM Community Area. You can access the area at http://ost.eurocontrol.int/sites/airm/SitePages/Home.aspx (registration is required).