Single European Sky must not remain dead in the water

Over a decade after it was first introduced (in 1999), the single European sky initiative is not living up to expectations. Launched as part of the creation of a Single European Transport Area and aimed at achieving a more efficient use of airspace, the single European sky is being hampered by governments' protectionist attitudes. Governments fear they will lose control over their airspace and that a single airspace might lead to job cuts.

The EPP Group finds the single European Sky too important to be allowed to fail over the short-sighted mindset of several national governments.

Inefficiencies costing €5 billion a year

EU airspace is currently split up between 27 national air traffic control systems, providing services from over 60 air traffic centres, while the airspace is divided into more than 650 sectors. That means airspace is structured around national boundaries and so flights are often unable to take direct routes.

On average, in Europe, aircraft fly 42 km longer than strictly necessary as a result of this fragmentation, causing longer flight times, delays, extra fuel burn and CO2 emissions. These inefficiencies bring extra costs of around €5 billion a year, costs which get passed on to businesses and passengers. Air traffic control currently makes up 6-12% of the cost of a ticket.

Creating a borderless European airspace: a pipedream?

In 2004, a new regulation was introduced to create a general framework for the realisation of a single European airspace. Its main features were common standards in a borderless European airspace and the separation of regulatory activities from service provision, to allow air traffic management services to operate across borders.

Little progress in making the single European sky a reality has been made since, however.

Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, also European Commissioner for Transport, has repeatedly voiced his dismay at this lack of progress and intends to propose new legislative proposals in early 2013 to accelerate the process.

While it is laudable that Commissioner Kallas is coming up with a plan B to make the single sky operational, for the EPP Group the most important challenge is to implement existing legislation. The EPP Group therefore welcomes the Commission's announcement that it will use its enforcement powers to the maximum, if necessary by launching infringement procedures.

A critical year with - missed - December deadlines

This year is a critical year for the Single European Sky (SES), as the deadlines for four key deliverables, including nine Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs), will expire by 4 December 2012.

Functional Airspace Blocks allow the management of several national air spaces in common so as to streamline routes and make better use of available technical and human resources. Of the nine functional airspace blocks that have to be operational by December, seven exist, though mostly on paper. And even the best-performing blocks, Denmark-Sweden and UK-Ireland, do not meet all the requirements.

As it looks like Member States will miss the December deadline for completing the implementation of the Functional Airspace Blocks, the EPP Group is glad to see one of the proposals the Commission is planning for Spring 2013 concerns precisely these FABs. The other proposals the Commission has in the pipeline deal with performance targets to increase European airspace capacity and cut costs, more powers for a central network manager for Europe and reforming air navigation service delivery.

Stronger enforcement needed

The EPP Group appreciates the fact that Commissioner Kallas has made the Single European Sky one of his flagship projects, but fears that little will be achieved without taking a stronger stance towards Member States failing to implement existing rules.

A report on the Implementation of the Single European Sky Legislation is due to be voted at the next plenary session of the European Parliament. The EPP Group will make sure the issues at hand will be tackled in this report.

How many more crises before an opportunity is seized?

Europe is still a long way from creating a single airspace. This is a missed opportunity, especially since the aviation industry is in favour of a single European system. This comes as no surprise if one knows that full implementation of the Single European Sky will improve safety by a factor of ten; airspace capacity will be tripled; the costs of air traffic management will be reduced by 50% and the impact on the environment will be reduced by 10%.

The 2010 volcano eruption crisis clearly demonstrated the importance of harmonised air traffic management, which would allow a more efficient response in exceptional situations. So how many more crises are necessary before the Member States bring the single sky to life?