Mind the gap: Balancing current and future challenges in European air traffic management

Abstract

Difficult economic conditions must not be allowed to inhibit investment in air traffic management, otherwise serious capacity shortfalls could result in the medium to long term. This problem is compounded by the correlation between lack of capacity and environmental impact; EUROCONTROL has several initiatives designed to combat both. This paper describes the flight efficiency plan that EUROCONTROL is carrying out with the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in addition to the Dynamic Management of the European Airspace Network (DMEAN) bridge to the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) programme. It also discusses collaborative decision making, continuous descent approaches, collaborative environmental management and bespoke airside airport capacity enhancement activities.