Progress reports published on the Single European Sky – far-reaching proposals to put in place a pan-European air traffic management system by 2030 – "set alarm bells ringing." "There is a genuine risk that we will lag behind and find ourselves unable to satisfy the rising demands of air travel, which is set to nearly double by 2030", said European Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport. "2012 is a make or break year for the Single European Sky and there is a lot at stake. Despite efforts that have been made, the Commission's "traffic light" assessment shows a large majority of Member States in the orange or red zones and at risk of not meeting critical targets for 2012".

2012 is a critical year for the Single European Sky – there are four key deliverables:
- the performance scheme, setting key air traffic management (ATM) targets (to start early in 2012);
- the nine "functional airspace blocks" (to be operational by end-2012);
- the ATM network manager (already designated as Eurocontrol);
- the launch of the deployment phase of SESAR, the technological arm of the Single European Sky (from 2014), moving from the R&D phase to the rollout of new equipment and technology.

The "traffic light" assessments published today by the Commission - based on two progress reports - highlight serious cause for concern in relation to two major elements which go to the heart of the Single European Sky project: the performance scheme and the functional airspace blocks.

1. On the performance scheme:
The result: Only 5 out of 27 Member States (Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) get a "green light" and are on track to meet both targets (for cost and capacity/delays) for the period 2012–14. The Commission has today issued recommendations asking Member States to revise these targets. If necessary the Commission could adopt a binding decision requesting the Member State(s) concerned to implement specific corrective measures, although a short time remains available for the targets to be met without recourse to this action.

Existing plans by Member States would fail to meet the EU-wide capacity target of 0.5 minute delay per flight in 2014. If this target were achieved, some €920 million would be saved over 2012–14 due to fewer and shorter delays.

In addition, national performance plans would miss the EU-wide target for ATM cost efficiency by 2.4% in 2014. This would have a a major impact, both on airspace users and on the credibility of the Single European Sky. To meet the target, additional measures are needed to achieve a €250 million saving over the entire three-year reference period (2012–14).

2. On the functional airspace blocks (FABs)
The result: All FAB blocks, except for one, the Danish/Swedish FAB, are in the orange or red zone and give serious cause for concern. The Commission is urging Member States to step up their actions. Failure to take measures at national level could oblige the Commission to re-open the SES legislative packages to introduce a more radical solution.

Key Facts and figures: the Single European Sky
European skies and airports risk saturation. Without substantial investment to modernise Europe's air traffic management system (the Single European Sky), our skies and airports will be jam-packed.

- Already there are 1.4 billion passengers a year in 440 airports.- That's 26 000 flights a day criss-crossing the European sky.
- Each year there are 10 million flights; and that is growing by up to 5% each year.

So 16.9 million flights per year in 20 years' time – that means in 2030 as many flights will cross Europe as there are inhabitants of Beijing. The challenge – flights that are smooth, safe and on time.

Problem: the air traffic management system is archaic; some of the basic technologies used date from the 1950s.

Solution: modernisation of Europe's airspace to create a pan-European air traffic management (ATM) system, modernising a fragmented patchwork of 27 national airspaces,
a) tripling the airspace capacity,
b) improving safety tenfold,
c) reducing environmental impact by 10%,
d) reducing air traffic management costs by 50%.

Single European Sky implemention – the European Commission, Member States EUROCONTROL, SESAR and the aviation sector.

Airline Associations: Member States must stop procrastinating on Single European Sky
Four airline associations - AEA, ELFAA, ERA and IACA1 - echoed the plea from the European Commission, calling on Member States to stop procrastinating on the Single European Sky project and start finally delivering on their obligations.

The current economic climate makes the Single European Sky, which will improve the efficiency of European Air Traffic Management (ATM), more important than ever. Today, the fragmented system is having an enormous detrimental impact on airlines, their passengers and the environment in terms of time, fuel burn and money.

Member States are trying to escape their Single European Sky commitments, and today the Commission has instructed the majority of Member States to revise their performance plans.

Airlines consider the Europe-wide targets set by the Commission as a bare minimum to implement the long-overdue improvements of the European ATM system. However, Member States have already watered down these plans, and only a few come close to fulfilling the agreed performance targets.

Airlines also regret the lack of meaningful implementation of the Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) which bring together blocks of national airspace and are therefore an essential part of the project. The concept of FABs currently seems to be just ‘window dressing’ by Member States.

“Airlines need urgent deliverables. Member States must stop procrastinating and make progress towards a genuine Single European Sky,” said Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, Secretary General, AEA.

“The current economic climate should be an added incentive, but Member States are now using this as an excuse to stall the project,” agreed John Hanlon, Secretary General, ELFAA. “Member States need to go back to the drawing board and work together with the Commission to revise their performance plans.”

“For far too long Member States have unduly benefitted from the full cost-recovery mechanism which has reduced the incentive to boost efficiency. As a result, airlines and consumers have had to pay for the system’s inefficiencies. It is time for Member States to show a real commitment to reform,” said Sylviane Lust, Director General of IACA.

"It is important that the public knows that there are no insurmountable technical obstacles to the early implementation of the Single European Sky: speedier progress is constrained only by lack of political will," concluded Mike Ambrose, Director General, ERA.


See video clip "The future of flying" for background on Single Sky