The new Single European Sky (SES2+) Regulation has entered into force, in what the European Commission promises to be a “step forward towards a more efficient, and more sustainable European airspace”. SES2+ creates rules and incentives for monopoly air navigation service providers to pursue more efficiency gains and adopt modern technologies. The aim is to alleviate congestion in Europe’s busy airspace and to provide better quality services. The regulation will also foster innovation and the development of new services in the sector. The hope for air traffic management services will be that SES2+ will help mitigate situations such as this summer, when air travel was severely disrupted, with nearly every other flight experiencing delays due mostly to overwhelming congestion in Europe’s airspace. The new regulation is also designed to reduce the environmental impact of flying. Specific targets for climate and environmental performance will be set for air navigation service providers, and airlines will be encouraged to adopt more sustainable practices through a fair charging system. EUROCONTROL, which has been appointed by the European Commission as the network manager, is expected to work with the stakeholders on the coordinated deployment of network infrastructure in Europe.
“This is a key step forward for European aviation. SES2+ will help make European airspace more efficient and more sustainable, and we stand ready to support the European Commission in the next phases of implementation, working closely in this regard with the member states,” said Raúl Medina, director general of EUROCONTROL. “In particular we welcome the emphasis on strengthening the network functions, making a clearer link between network operations and network performance – and better integrating the overall technical infrastructure into network operations.”
