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Europe to Modify Air Routes for Fuel Efficiency

The Union wants to reduce its carbon footprint

Mar 26, 2009 15:23 GMT  ·  By
European skies are becoming increasingly clogged, so new ways of regulating air traffic are necessary
   European skies are becoming increasingly clogged, so new ways of regulating air traffic are necessary

On Wednesday, European lawmakers set the basis for one of their most ambitious projects to date, namely for the creation of a unified air space above the Union, in a move that is aimed squarely at reducing the amount of pollution created by airplanes traveling long routes in order to go around certain areas. That is to say, the flight path that airlines have to stick to today could be drastically changed, to allow planes to fly straight to their destination and to drastically reduce fuel consumption.

According to initial estimates, several billions of Euros in costs could be saved each year if the new proposal is accepted, simply because all commercial transports will require less fuel to get to their destinations. Currently, aircrafts attempting to get from one part of the continent to the other have to take large detours and to travel in zig-zag above the 27 member states, so as to respect national airspace and other similar conventions.

The Single European Sky, a pun on Europe's 1986 Single European Act, will eliminate these restrictions and will also help clear the skies over the next few years, when air traffic is expected to increase drastically. Furthermore, air companies will get a break from their loss periods, as air transports are expected to decline by more than 5 percent this year alone. Lower operating costs means lower ticket prices, and thus the possibility of attracting more customers.

The measure, already voted by the European Parliament with 614 votes in favor and 47 against, is part of a larger plan, in that the powers of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will be significantly increased. Thus, the EU agency will have the ability to control air traffic and schedules from now on, with the sole purpose of harmonizing the “flow” of traffic over Europe. The law also reduces the number of space zones over the Old Continent from 27 to 9, which is further expected to lower costs.

Europe plans to lead the world's effort to reduce pollution, by cutting emission levels by 20 percent under 1990 levels until 2020. Implementing the Single European Sky project by 2011 brings the accomplishment of this objective a bit closer, lawmakers hope.