Single European Sky

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The Single European Sky (SES) is a European Commission initiative that seeks to reform the European air traffic management system through a series of actions carried out in four different levels (institutional, operational, technological and control and supervision) with the aim of satisfying the needs of the European airspace in terms of capacity, safety, efficiency and environmental impact. [1]

Contents

Background

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  Military airspaces avoided by civilian aircraft (2009)

Air traffic management in the European Union is currently undertaken by member states, co-operating through EUROCONTROL, an intergovernmental organisation that includes most of the European countries.[ citation needed ]

European air spaces are some of the busiest in the world, and the current system of air traffic management allegedly suffers from several parameters, such as using national borders in the sky, and having large areas of airspace reserved for national military use when in fact they may not be needed.[ citation needed ] This has created 'an outdated patchwork of airspace blocs and inefficient flight paths [which] impose significant financial and environmental costs on the sector.' [2] For example, airplanes are often forced to 'circle the skies burning fuel when traffic controllers go on strike or are at capacity'. [2] On average, planes fly 49 kilometres (30.4 miles) longer than strictly necessary. [3]

Advantages

The Single European Sky is hoped to benefit airspace users by ensuring the safe and efficient utilisation of airspace and the air traffic management system within and beyond the EU.

Disadvantages

History

Origins (1999–2004)

After the Prodi Commission took office in September 1999, Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio launched efforts to structurally reform air traffic management across Europe, as she and many others had concluded that Eurocontrol was incapable of effectively carrying out its duties, particularly its decision-making and its failure to implement agreements. By the end of 1999, the European Commission had obtained the consent of all EU Transport Ministers for the 'creation of a single European sky', encompassing structural ATM integration and reform, and established a high level group of senior civil and military air traffic authorities representing the member states to prepare concrete policy proposals. [7]

After the high level group had completed its report in late 2000, the Commission used its recommendations to develop legislative proposals for regulating the SES. [7] In October 2001, the European Commission adopted proposals for a Single European Sky, to create a Union regulator for air traffic management within the countries forming the European Union, Norway and Switzerland. The European Union regulator was supposed to merge upper European airspaces, currently divided into national zones. It was proposed to organise this airspace uniformly, with air traffic control areas based on operational efficiency, instead of national borders. Also, there were plans to integrate civil and military air traffic management.[ citation needed ] The framework regulation that sketched the working methods of the SES, and specific regulations on air navigation, airspace and equipment, were adopted on 11 December 2003, and entered into force as Regulation (EC) No 550/2004 (Service Provision Regulation) on 20 April 2004. [7] [8]

There are discussions about enlarging the initiative to cover the Balkan and Mediterranean countries.[ citation needed ]

Gibraltar issue (2000–2020)

One report from the British Parliament, dated 2000, reported that Spain blocked the inclusion of Gibraltar Airport in the Single European Sky, meaning the whole package was suspended. [9] Due to Brexit, formally completed on 31 January 2020, this stumbling block was removed. [2]

SES-I (2004–2009)

The first SES legislation (SES-I) has been viewed as 'a real breakthrough', as is stimulated progress in harmonisation in air navigation service providers (ANSPs), the establishment of national supervisory authorities and EU competences over certification of these services. [7] However, progress was slow in the next two years; the establishment of functional airspace blocks (FABs) was disorganised, little progress was made in improving cost efficiency, growing air traffic threatened capacity, and with tackling climate change emerging as a political priority, European aviation's emissions had to be mitigated. [7] In response to strong demands from the industry, EU member states and other stakeholders, the Barroso Commission appointed a new high level group to develop a more detailed regulatory framework in November 2006. [7] The group published its report in July 2007; it contained 10 recommendations, including making the EU the primary regulator of European aviation in order to set performance targets, safety requirements, introduce economic regulation of ATM services, incentives for ANSPs to achieve their objectives, and streamlining the implementation of FABs. Eurocontrol would provide the EU with technical support for regulations, safety regulation would be delegated to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and member states would be urged to hurry up with their commitments to implement the defragmentation of airspaces. [7]

SES-II (2009–2012)

Map of functional airspace blocks in the Single European Sky NEFAB FAB DK-SE FAB UK-IRL Baltic FAB FABEC FAB CE SW FAB Danube FAB Blue Med Functional airspace block.svg
Map of functional airspace blocks in the Single European Sky
  NEFAB
  FAB DK-SE
  FAB UK-IRL
  Baltic FAB
  FABEC
  FAB CE
  SW FAB
  Danube FAB
  Blue Med

On 21 October 2009, a revision of the SES regulations called SES-II was adopted, which entered into force on 4 December 2009. [10] Focus is here on four areas:[ citation needed ]

  1. The existing Single Sky legislation is sharpened to deal with performance and environmental challenges.
  2. The Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) programme is to provide the future technology.
  3. The competence of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is to be extended to aerodromes, air traffic management and air navigation services.
  4. The 'action plan for airport capacity, efficiency and safety' is to be implemented thus providing ground capacity.

The SES-II aimed to merge 36 national airspaces into 9 Functional Airspace Block (FABs) in order to provide better performance, [5] ultimately 3 years later on 4 December 2012. [4]

The air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption caused an acceleration to merge member states' air traffic control systems into the Single European Sky, and the immediate creation of a crisis co-ordination group to handle future transport disruptions. [5] On 2 December 2010, France, Germany, Switzerland and the Benelux countries agreed to form the FABEC (Functional Airspace Block Europe Central), the third FAB to be created after the Dano-Swedish and Anglo-Irish block. The FABs were supposed to enter into effect by 2012, but delays were expected due to protests from ATC labour unions. [11] The FAB CE, consisting of Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, was formed in 2011. [12] By 26 October 2012, only the Anglo-Irish and Dano-Swedish FABs had been fully implemented, while the other 7 FABs were still in various stages of development; the deadline for the full realisation of the Single European Sky on 4 December 2012 was missed. [4]

SES 2+ (2013–2018)

On 10 June 2013, the European Commission presented its plan "B" to speed up the implementation process of SES. The so-called SES 2+ is a package of measure which aim at challenging the current situation with state owned monopolies responsible for providing air navigation services. At the same time, transport workers' union ETF announced mobilising its members to protest against the suggested package. [13] [14] Negotiations on SES 2+ stalled in the Council in 2015. [15]

In 2017, the European Court of Auditors determined that the functional airspace blocks have failed to defragment European airspace as they have not been fully implemented, with aircraft still being serviced by a different air navigation provider in each member state with different rules and requirements. This was due to a "lack of commitment on the part of the member states". [16]

Amended SES 2+ (2019–present)

By 2019, nothing of the plan had yet been officially realised, adding an extra 6 billion euros in costs, and 11.6 million megatonnes of excess CO2 emissions for that year alone. [2] In September 2019, 21 aviation organisations including Airlines for Europe (A4E), AIRE, ACI Europe, CANSO, ERA and IATA, signed an agreement in Brussels to urge the creation of an SES, and to work together with EU institutions and member states to achieve it. [17] The Commission appointed 15 experts in the field to form a Wise Person's Group to assess the current situation and future needs. [15]

After Brexit was formally completed on 31 January 2020 (eliminating UK objections and the Gibraltar issue), and the COVID-19 pandemic put the aviation sector into an existential crisis, the European Commission made a new proposal for a Single European Sky on 22 September 2020. [2] It used the expert group's recommendations to amend the 2013 proposal's text, and introduced new measures; separately, it also drafted a proposal to amend the EASA Basic Regulation.[ citation needed ] Instead of relying on top-down regulation, which appeared not to have worked previously, the Commission stimulated voluntary alliances between so-called air traffic service providers. [2] Airlines for Europe supported the proposal, but stressed the importance of 'enhanced governance structure' to ensure its success. [2] Meanwhile, the FABEC and FAB CE zones, jointly accounting for 8.6 million flights (over 75% of all European air traffic) in 2019, agreed to formalise and intensify their cooperation in June 2020. [18]

Timeline

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air traffic control</span> Public service provided for the purpose of maintaining the safe and orderly flow of air traffic

Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airspace. The primary purpose of ATC worldwide is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots.

NATS Holdings, formerly National Air Traffic Services and commonly referred to as NATS, provides en-route air traffic control services to flights within the UK flight information regions and the Shanwick Oceanic Control Area. It also provides air traffic control services to 14 UK airports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Union Aviation Safety Agency</span> European Union civil aviation authority

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitoring. It collects and analyses safety data, drafts and advises on safety legislation and co-ordinates with similar organisations in other parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ENAIRE</span>

ENAIRE is the air navigation manager in Spain, certified for the provision of enroute, approach and aerodrome control services. As a public corporate entity attached to the Spanish Ministry of Public Works, it is responsible for air traffic control, aeronautical information and the communication, navigation and surveillance networks - these are all necessary so that air companies and their aircraft can fly safely and in an organised format within Spanish airspace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurocontrol</span> European air traffic organisation

The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol, is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1960, Eurocontrol currently has 41 member states with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. It has several local sites as well, including an Innovation Hub in Brétigny-sur-Orge, France, the Aviation Learning Centre (ALC) in Luxembourg, and the Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The organisation employs approximately two thousand people, and operates with an annual budget in excess of half a billion Euro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air traffic management</span>

Air traffic management (ATM) aims at ensuring the safe and efficient flow of air traffic. It encompasses three types of services:

Skyguide is an air navigation service provider which manages and monitors Swiss airspace. The company, which was formerly known as Swisscontrol, changed its name to skyguide in 2001. Skyguide is a joint-stock company under Swiss private law which is responsible, on behalf of the Swiss Confederation, for ensuring the safety of all Swiss airspace and of adjoining airspace areas in Germany, Austria, France and Italy that have been delegated to its control. For Swiss airspace, this duty extends to both civil and military air navigation services.

System Wide Information Management (SWIM) is a global Air Traffic Management (ATM) industry initiative to harmonize the exchange of Aeronautical, Weather and Flight information for all Airspace Users and Stakeholders. SWIM is an integral part of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP). The GANP defines 4 Performance Improvement Areas (PIA), SWIM resides in PIA 2: Globally interoperable systems and data, where its implementation is further defined in Aviation System Block Upgrades (ASBU) B1-SWIM and B2-SWIM. ASBU B1-SWIM defines SWIM as a “a net-centric operation where the air traffic management (ATM) network is considered as a series of nodes, including the aircraft, providing or using information.” it goes on to say “The sharing of information of the required quality and timeliness in a secure environment is an essential enabler to the ATM target concept.”

European Business Aviation Association, or EBAA, is a non-profit association based in Belgium that has existed since 1977. It’s more than 700 member companies span all aspects of the business aviation sector in Europe and elsewhere. The EBAA's aim is to promote excellence and professionalism among its members and to ensure that aviation is properly recognized as a vital sector of the European Economy. EBAA represents corporate operators, commercial operators, manufacturers, airports, fixed-base operators, and business aviation service providers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in the European Union</span>

Transport in the European Union is a shared competence of the Union and its member states. The European Commission includes a Commissioner for Transport, currently Adina Ioana Vălean. Since 2012, the commission also includes a Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport which develops EU policies in the transport sector and manages funding for Trans-European Networks and technological development and innovation, worth €850 million yearly for the period 2000–2006.

Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) is a collaborative project to completely overhaul European airspace and its air traffic management (ATM). The actual program is managed by the SESAR Joint Undertaking as a public–private partnership (PPP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Functional airspace block</span> Division of airspace in the European Union

Functional airspace block (FAB) is defined in the SES-2 legislative package, as follows:

A FAB means an airspace block based on operational requirements and established regardless of State boundaries, where the provision of air navigation services and related functions are performance-driven and optimized with a view to introducing, in each functional airspace block, enhanced cooperation among air navigation service providers or, where appropriate, an integrated provider.

The Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking is an institutionalised European public-private partnership, established in 2021, to accelerate through research and development the delivery of the Digital European Sky, as part of the SESAR project. Initiated in 2004, the SESAR project is the technological arm of the EU's Single European Sky initiative to integrate EU Member States' ATM systems. Bringing together the EU, Eurocontrol, and more than 50 organisations covering the entire aviation value chain, including drones, this European partnership is investing more than EUR 1.6 billion between now and 2030 to accelerate, through research and innovation, the delivery of an inclusive, resilient and sustainable Digital European Sky.

Airport Collaborative Decision Making is the implementation of the CDM process for enhancing the airport turnaround and fostering collaboration between the stakeholders. Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as a process applied to support other activities such as demand/capacity balancing. CDM can be applied across the timeline of activities from strategic planning to real-time operations. CDM is not an objective but a way to reach the performance objectives of the processes it supports. The various industry stakeholders are supporting A-CDM optimization, such as ACI World, CANSO, and IATA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIMACT</span>

CIMACT is EUROCONTROL's Civil-Military Air Traffic Management Co-ordination Tool.

Airbus ProSky was an Airbus subsidiary dedicated to improving the performance of global air traffic management (ATM) prior to Airbus merging it with Airbus LUCEM and NAVTECH to form Navblue. Composed of ATM experts and offering various solutions to enhance air traffic capacity, efficiency and safety, Airbus ProSky works with air navigation service providers (ANSP), aircraft operators, airport authorities and Civil Aviation Authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estonian Air Navigation Services</span> Company based in Estonia

Estonian Air Navigation Services, abbreviated as EANS, is a modern, rapidly developing company operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Estonia. It is a business entity, the major function of which is to provide services to air traffic in accordance with international standards as well as to ensure flight safety in Tallinn Flight Information Region. The sole owner of the company shares is the Republic of Estonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unmanned aircraft system traffic management</span>

Unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM) is an air traffic management ecosystem under development for autonomously controlled operations of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by the FAA, NASA, other federal partner agencies, and industry. They are collaboratively exploring concepts of operation, data exchange requirements, and a supporting framework to enable multiple UAS operations beyond visual line-of-sight at altitudes under 400 ft above ground level in airspace where FAA air traffic services are not provided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Klas</span> Czech aviation expert and manager (born 1963)

Jan Klas is a Czech aviation expert and Director General of the state-owned enterprise Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic.

References

  1. ↑ GARCÍA FERREIRO, Anxo. «El Cielo Único Europeo. Un nuevo concepto de gestión del tráfico aéreo para Europa», en Curso de Derecho Aeronáutico Práctico para Operadores Aéreos. Instituto Iberoamericano de Derecho Aeronáutico y del Espacio y de la Aviación Comercial. Madrid 2016 , p. 243
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Sam Morgan (22 September 2020). "Corona-crisis and Brexit boost EU air traffic reform hopes". Euractiv. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Q&A: Ash lessons for EU aviation". BBC News. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Europe to take a third attempt at sorting out the Single European Sky". Centre for Aviation. CAPA. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 James Kanter & Nicola Clark (4 May 2010). "European Union Agrees to Accelerate Joint Control of Skies". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Lolke van der Heide (22 September 2020). "Single European Sky in zicht?". Zakenreis.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Crespo, Daniel Calleja; de Leon, Pablo Mendes (2011). Achieving the Single European Sky: Goals and Challenges. Alphen aan de Rijn: Kluwer Law International. pp. 4–5. ISBN   9789041137302 . Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 "Regulation (EC) No 550/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 on the provision of air navigation services in the single European sky (the service provision Regulation)". Official Journal of the European Union. Eur-Lex. 10 March 2004. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "Foreign Affairs Committee Report". www.parliament.co.uk.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "(Revised) Regulation (EC) No 550/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 on the provision of air navigation services in the single European sky (the service provision Regulation)". Official Journal of the European Union. Eur-Lex. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  11. ↑ Yannick De Bel (2 December 2010). "Zes landen tekenen verdrag ter oprichting FABEC". Flightlevel.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  12. ↑ "Bures trifft slowenischen Verkehrsminister Patrick Vlacic - Enge Zusammenarbeit bei umweltfreundlichen Verkehr und Single European Sky". Originaltext-Service (in German). Austrian government. 19 November 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  13. ↑ "The sky has a limit". www.eurocockpit.be. 5 November 2012.
  14. ↑ "Unions mobilise to further halt European reform". Air Traffic Management. 9 June 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 Single European Sky 2+ package, Amended Commission proposal: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2020/659421/EPRS_BRI(2020)659421_EN.pdf
  16. ↑ Caterina Tani (1 December 2017). "Auditors: 'Single European Sky' failed to meet main objectives". EUObserver. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  17. ↑ Niek Vernooij (11 September 2019). "Luchtvaartorganisaties dringen aan op Single European Sky". Luchtvaartnieuws.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  18. ↑ "Engere Zusammenarbeit der Luftraumblöcke FABEC und FAB CE". Airportzentrale.de (in German). 20 June 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  19. ↑ Amended proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the implementation of the Single European Sky (recast), 2020, retrieved 9 July 2023

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