On May 6, a long-term solution to Europe’s air traffic control congestion problems came a giant step closer with the launch of the Single European Sky (SES) development phase. The event, in Rome, marked the end of the challenging two-year definition phase of the SES air traffic management research (SESAR) program and the beginning of an effort that, if it succeeds, will yield an environment in which aircraft will cross Europe in totally seamless airspace. The resulting improvement in efficiency will lead to not only huge fuel savings but also help airlines to meet the ever tougher environmental demands being placed on their operations.
European air traffic management (ATM) will then have reached the Holy Grail of almost 100 percent efficiency. While estimates of fuel savings in the completed SES are impossible to predict, Eurocontrol’s SESAR and ATM strategy chief Bernard Miaillier reckons that “up to 25 percent of the flight inefficiencies we see today will be eliminated.”
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