Air travel increased throughout the years and only a few ever realise that in one year, 800 million passengers travel from 440 European airports. This means that 27,000 flights are controlled in a year.

It is ascertained that in the upcoming 20 years the number of flights will increase by 50%. Henceforth, there is an increase of 3% per year. One can immediately understand that this statistical figure brings a great deal of pressure and a need for coordinated management. The importance of protecting the health and safety elements becomes more essential. In the meantime, the provision of an efficient service to the passengers is of utmost importance. In this context, the European Commission recently took the necessary action to reform the system of air traffic control in Europe without further delay.

In fact, the European Commission is proposing an update of the four regulations that create the Single European Sky (SES) and further amending rules which serve as the guidelines on how the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) functions.  The key elements of these proposals are known as the Single European Sky 2+ (SES2+). This reform builds upon what was done back in the late 1990s whereby proposals were designed to create a SES in order to eliminate national borders in the air and aim to achieve a unique European airspace. As a matter of fact, the main objectives of the SES2+ are to increase safety, triple the capacity of airspace, reduce the costs of managing air traffic by 50%, and reduce the environmental impact by 10%.

The European Commission is seeking to build the basis of the SES2+ on four key pillars to:

·         Guarantee greater protection of security and surveillance;

·         Create new business opportunities in support services;

·         Ensure better management of air traffic;

·         Provide industrial partnership opportunities.

In order to get more aid for air traffic control organisations, as already mentioned above, the Commission is proposing to create new business opportunities for companies to offer support services in meteorology, aeronautical information and surveillance services, amongst others. These services will have to be separated and this will be done through calls for tender under normal procurement rules. This should put an end to existing monopoly providers and save up to 20% in costs.

Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) are intended to replace the current patchwork of 27 national air traffic blocks with a network of larger, regional blocks to gain efficiency, cut costs and reduce emissions. Despite a binding deadline of December 2012 for Member States to establish FABs, none of the 9 FABs which have been created are fully operational. FABs have so far had relatively inflexible constructions. SES2+ will make them more flexible, industry led, and more focused on performance. As long as the performance targets are met, the Commission will not try to micromanage the FABs, but let the industry devise its own solutions.

The EU Commissioner for Transport, Siim Kallas, in a statement which was issued recently said, "Our airlines and their passengers have had to endure more than 10 years of reduced services and missed deadlines on the route to a Single European Sky. We cannot afford to continue this way. Today we are strengthening the nuts and bolts of the system so it can withstand more pressure and deliver ambitious reforms even in difficult economic times. We need to boost the competitiveness of the European aviation sector and create more jobs in the airlines and at airports".

Lately, MEUSAC’s Core Group also discussed the SES2+. Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, Dr Helena Dalli who was chairing the meeting said that this legislative package of proposals will also translate into more focus towards the customers. This is due to the fact that passengers will benefit from reductions in costs, whilst the airlines will increase their profit. Shorter routes will consequently lead to a reduction of emissions of harmful gases.

The next step is that these proposals are approved by the Member States and the European Parliament before becoming law. The Commission’s aim for these proposals is to come into force by end of 2014.