ATAG Corporate brochure

Removing borders
The reorganisation and simplification of
airspace will be guided by commercial
traffic flows beyond national borders. One
solution is the implementation of functional
blocks of airspace (FBAs) – for both upper
and lower airspace. These airspace blocks
must be managed in an integrated way,
thereby replacing the traditional airspace
structure based along national frontiers.
Single European Sky example
Europe’s airspace is still fragmented
along national boundaries. Due to be
implemented from 2004, the Single
Sky initiative aims to break down
these national barriers that impede
air traffic flow, to further improve
safety, capacity and efficiency and
to reduce flight delays. The following
table illustrates why change is
needed. Europe’s unnecessary
bureaucratic duplication and multiple
authorities contribute to a 60-70%
cost increase of air navigation
services when compared to the US.
Air transport safety, efficiency and growth driven by market demand
"Passengers expect a lot from the air transport industry, with the economy of our
world depending very much on getting people where they want to go, when they
want to go, in a reliable and economic way, and the Air Traffic Alliance founded by
EADS, Airbus and THALES, has a key role to play in helping to make this happen."
Noël Forgeard, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus
Comparison between European and US airspace (2001)
7
European area US - FAA
Size of en-route controlled airspace (km 2) 10,785,000 13,753,000
Number of civil en-route air navigation 29 1
service providers
Number of en-route centres 58 21
Number of sectors in en-route centres 594 780
Total en-route and terminal ANS staff 46,100 34,532
Annual flight hours per controller 800 1,433
Average cost per flight-hour (USD) 564 323
EUROCONTROL Performance Review Report An assessment of air traffic management in Europe during the
calendar year 2002, PRR6, May 2003
Integrating civil and military operations
Achieving optimum airspace allocation will
require greater cooperation between civil
and military operations. One of the reasons
for increased levels of congestion and
corresponding impact on efficiency is that
certain areas of airspace are reserved
entirely for military use. Priority allocation
of airspace to the civil or military in times
of peace or conflict will lead to a more
even spread of traffic across the sky, and
ease congestion.
Applying a business-driven approach
to air navigation services (ANS)
Urgent changes are required to build a
business-driven relationship between
ANS providers and airspace users and to
properly address current disparities in the
value chain. Appropriate legislation and
regulations are needed to ensure that air
navigation services are managed openly
and in a manner that is fair and equitable
for the airline industry.
Airlines contribute over USD 40 billion
per year in user charges for air traffic and
airport services and should, therefore, be
fully consulted on all decisions affecting
their operating environment including any
changes to their infrastructure fees. For
instance, the full cost recovery principle
needs to be updated to generate incentives
for ANS providers to deliver the right
level of capacity in the most efficient and
cost-effective manner. Commercial
arrangements between airspace providers
and users, i.e. service level agreements
(SLAs) are encouraged to ensure high
quality services and establish a more
equitable value chain, provided that
appropriate State regulation is enacted.