France is pivotal to the European airspace system. DSNA, the French Air Navigation Service Provider, was the first European ANSP to operate 3 million flights annually, and its position ensures it is the fulcrum of connectivity across the continent.
In October, IATA and DSNA announced an agreement to cooperate on the development of a French Air Traffic Management (ATM) Strategy (FAS). With an extra 68 million passengers a year due to be flying in and out of France in 2036, the need for modernization is acute. The partnership between IATA and DSNA will help to bring all the key stakeholders together—including the government—to ensure the FAS delivers the additional annual €33 billion and 105,000 jobs that a fully modernized airspace can achieve by 2035.
As Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO said, "[This] could signify the start of a change in how Europe's skies are managed…We look forward to working with DSNA to make the French ATM Strategy not only a success for France, but a model for other European ANSPs to follow, so that the work of airspace optimization can bring benefits to all of Europe's citizens, and the goals of the Single European Sky can be achieved."
Read the press release for more information on the partnership.