Major Air Traffic Management Project Receives EU Support

What's being called an essential project in the development of the Functional Airspace Block Europe Central (FABEC) will receive almost €13.8 million (USD $19.6 million) in EU support from the 2010 TEN-T Multi-Annual Call. The study will identify solutions to further implement the Single European Sky II legislation and aims to improve safety, capacity and environmental performance of air transport, as well as reduce costs.

The FABEC project, which will last until the end of 2012, involves France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg with cooperation from Switzerland. The project includes 13 activities covering a wide range of essential issues from the development of a new airspace design and cost-efficiency measures in the areas of Communication/Navigation/Surveillance services to human resources-related issues such as training and working conditions.

The objective is to contribute to the establishment of the Functional Airspace Block in the countries concerned by 2012 and thus significantly improve air traffic management in the region.

The airspace of the six FABEC countries is one of the busiest in the world, encompassing most of the major European airports, civil airways and military training areas. About 5.5 million flights take place every year in the region, or 55% of all European air traffic, and over 17,000 people work for air navigation service providers of the FABEC nations.

FMI: http://tentea.ec.europa.eu/en/ten-t_projects/ten-t_projects_by_country/multi_country/2010-eu-40101-s.htm