Facts & Figures

Fact Sheet: Single European Sky (SES)

  • In 1999 the European Commission (EC) proposed the creation of a Single European Sky (SES) for air traffic management (ATM) 
  • The SES project was formally launched in 2004
    • Designed to rationalize the fragmentation of European airspace into nine Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs)
  • The first package of proposals in 2004 provided limited progress and benefits
  • Following strong lobbying by IATA and other user associations, the EC adopted a second package of measures in July 2008
  • SES Package II was adopted by the Council in March 2009 and will come into effect in September 2009

Cost of ATM inefficiency in EU

  • In 2008 the failure to implement SES resulted in
    • 23.8 million minutes of delays costing €1.5 billion (an estimated €0.9 billion for the en-route phase)
    • 473 million kilometers of unnecessary flight costing €2.6 billion
    • Additional 16 million tonnes of CO2 emissions as a result of ATM (according to the EC) 
    • The total economic cost of providing the ATM service is €11.86 billion including the cost of (gate to gate) capacity of €8.36 billion and cost of flight inefficiencies of €3.5 billion
  • 10.1 million flights were controlled in 2008
    • Traffic decline of 5% in Europe is expected in 2009  
    • But anticipated recovery to 15.9 million flights by 2020
  • 36 national air navigation service providers in Europe
    • With a 2008 total economic bill of €11.86 billion to users
    • €3.5 billion of this was driven by route inefficiencies and delays excluding the cost of fragmentation, which is estimated at an additional €1billion
    • Urgent action required to unlock inefficiencies and consolidate providers
    • 20% of flights expected to be delayed by 2020 if there is no modernization of the system
    • With a further 1.5 million unaccommodated flights if action is not taken to plan capacity 
  • Flight inefficiencies, from sub-optimal routing and procedures cost €2.6 billion for 2008 
    • Flight inefficiencies alone impact fuel burn by 7% -11% 
  • European air navigation is 60-70% less efficient than in North America 
    • US controls 13.8 million km2 of airspace with one ANSP and 21 en-route centers
    • Europe controls 10.8 million km2 of airspace with 36 ANSPs and 58 en-route centers
  • European ATM costs 75% more than in USA
    • European flight costs €771 per flight
    • US flight costs €440 per flight 

Status

  • A more efficient European air traffic system will
    • Reduce delays for the travelling public
    • Increase safety and flight efficiency
    • Contribute to the overall health of the airline industry 
    • Bolster the EU economy
    • Improve ATM’s environmental performance
    • Provide ATM capacity to meet future demand
  • IATA is working with the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) to improve ANSP efficiency through benchmarking and improved customer relations
  • SES II Package was proposed by the European Commission in June 2008. SES Package II will enter into force in September 2009
    • Sets 2012 implementation deadline for FABs
    • Allows financing of common projects from Community funding sources
    • Forbids cross-subsidization between en-route and terminal navigation services
    • Is expected to establish a performance improvement scheme by end of 2010 with binding targets at European, FAB or national level for 4 key performance areas (cost efficiency, environment/flight efficiency, safety and capacity/delays)
  • 9 FABs will increase airspace capacity by 50%
    • Savings of 17.5km and 72kg of fuel per flight
    • There will be no impact on sovereignty
  • SESAR, the technical component of the SES, when fully implemented by 2020 will 
    • Increase system capacity 70%
    • Reduce average delays to 1 minute or less
    • Cut user costs by 50% 
    • Reduce the environmental impact per flight 10% by 2020 
    • While improving safety levels as traffic increases 70%

Future considerations

  • IATA and airlines have asked for a number of criteria to make SES II effective
    • Binding performance targets at the national and community levels
    • Functional airspace blocks (FABs) coordinated by a strong network manager 
    • With harmonized safety oversight through EASA
    • And progress on SESAR

Updated August 2009