Improved vertical flight efficiency, flight planning and capacity: FABEC hosted workshop with airspace users and ANSP

Environmental efficiency and its relationship to capacity management, flight planning and data link operations were key topics at the latest FABEC workshop, held over two days on 2–3 April in Nice, France. Environmental sustainability experts from airlines and air navigation service providers, as well as members of the Airline Operations Group (AOG) and the Computer Flight Plan Service Providers Group (CFSPG), engaged in dynamic discussions and shared valuable insights to promote a common and comprehensive understanding of the issues at both operational and strategic levels.

This expert workshop was the latest in a series aimed at addressing environmental issues and enhancing flight efficiency identifying performance improvements. Led by FABEC's environmental experts and moderated by Marilyn Bastin (EUROCONTROL) and Urs Lauener (Skyguide COO and Head of the FABEC Standing Committee on Environmentally Sustainable Operations), participants addressed performance indicators, vertical flight efficiency (VFE), capacity interdependencies and innovative Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) initiatives. While the development of improved CDO procedures was clearly in the forefront of the environmental initiatives, the workshop provided also an in-depth analysis of various projects and collaborations, highlighting continuous improvements achieved through ongoing collaborative efforts between air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and airlines.

For the first time, members of the AOG and the CFSPG participated alongside environmental experts in the two-day workshop.

With environmental impact high on the agenda, and in a context of steadily increasing traffic across Europe, the workshop is part of FABEC's efforts to bring together experts from different stakeholder groups on a regular basis to ensure mutual understanding of both the needs and the limitations in reducing aviation's environmental footprint.