NATS Single European Sky (SES) The European Commission’s Single European Sky initiative Share Home About us About SES The Single European Sky is an initiative to improve the way Europe’s airspace is managed. Europe’s airspace is currently fragmented, divided along national borders. This can lead to duplication of effort and inefficiencies, with airspace users sometimes flying further than they need to, increasing fuel burn and CO2 emissions. The Single European Sky initiative was set up to address these challenges, whilst reducing the cost of air traffic service provision and increasing Europe’s capacity to meet forecast growth in demand for air traffic. NATS and SES NATS contributes to the Single European Sky in a number of ways: SESAR. We are an active contributor to SESAR – the Single European Sky ATM Research programme – and are a member of both the SESAR Joint Undertaking and the SESAR Deployment Manager. UK-Ireland Functional Airspace Block (FAB). We are a member of the UK-Ireland Functional Airspace Block (FAB), the first FAB to be established and operationally active when it launched in 2008. In its first four years of operation, the FAB delivered more than double the €12m enabled customer savings that it targeted when it was established. Alliances. We are founding members of two of Europe’s leading Alliances committed to driving progress in support of the objectives of the Single European Sky – the A6 Alliance of Air Navigation Service Providers and the Borealis Alliance. Regulatory Framework. We contribute to Europe-wide performance targets for air traffic management in the areas of safety, cost-efficiency, capacity and environmental performance, set as part of the regulatory framework of the Single European Sky. We have committed to a price reduction of c.20% in real terms by the end of RP2 (2019), whilst maintaining our excellent performance levels and delivering significant environmental savings. For details of our latest performance plan, which contributes to delivering the Single European Sky, please visit our page on the SES Regulatory Framework. European airspace network. We work closely with other ANSPs and Eurocontrol to ensure the wider European airspace network functions smoothly and efficiently and our Director of Operations, Strategy is Chair of the European Commission-mandated Network Management Board. Regulatory Framework Since 2012 the European Commission has introduced a regulatory framework in support of the Single European Sky. This regulatory framework aims at setting and implementing binding targets for EU Member States in the key performance areas of safety, environment, airspace capacity and cost efficiency. Member States put forward proposals as part of Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) to the European Commission for its approval based on its assessment of whether the plans make a sufficient contribution to the key performance areas. The UK Government submits its plans with the Irish Government on behalf of the UK-Ireland FAB. SESAR The Single European Sky ATM Research programme (SESAR) is a major public-private cross-industry initiative. It brings together the aviation industry to develop new technologies and solutions that will improve the way Europe’s airspace is managed and oversee their implementation. SESAR Joint Undertaking SESAR Deployment Manager European Union co‑funding To support the deployment of new technologies and solutions, NATS benefits from co‑funding from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). European Union co‑funding is one of the instruments to realise European transport infrastructure policy. It supports investments in building new transport infrastructure in Europe or upgrading existing ones. Since April 2021 this funding is managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The projects NATS have received co-funding for include: Implementation of Initial SWIM Capability (AF5) across NATS London Airspace Management Programme (LAMP) – Part A London Airspace Management Programme (LAMP) – Part B Manchester TMA Re-Development Time Based Separation Borealis Free Route Airspace (Part 1) UK-Ireland FAB Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) are an initiative of the European Commission, designed to try and defragment Europe’s airspace. They oblige States, Air Navigation Service Providers and National Supervisory Authorities to cooperate across borders in order to try and better manage traffic flows to both improve performance and reduce costs. There are currently nine Functional Airspace Blocks. The UK-Ireland FAB acts as Europe’s North Atlantic gateway, with around 90% of North Atlantic traffic passing through Irish or UK airspace. In the first four years of operation it delivered over €70m of enabled savings to customers, including 232,000 tonnes of CO2 and 73,000 tonnes of fuel. Major projects have included the first-ever operational trial of cross-border dynamic sectorisation – the tactical switching of air traffic services between providers and a world-first operational trial of cross-border arrival management procedures, slowing down aircraft across borders in order to reduce the time they are required to spend in airport holding stacks. Further details can be found on the UK-Ireland FAB website. Network Management The UK’s airspace is an integral part of the wider European air traffic management (ATM) system. Europe’s airspace is busy and complex and any major delays or issues in one piece of airspace can have a knock-on effect in other parts of the network, so it is vital that they are identified, anticipated and managed appropriately to avoid any disruption. The Network Manager was set up by the European Commission in 2011 to do exactly that, and to ensure the whole European system functions efficiently. The Network Manager works in partnership with ANSPs across Europe to manage air traffic flows efficiently and effectively across the network. It also manages scarce resources that underpin air traffic management in Europe – for example, coordinating radio frequencies within aviation frequency bands used by general air traffic and coordinating Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) transponder codes. As a major part of Europe’s North Atlantic gateway, NATS works closely with the Network Manager to address any air traffic flow management issues and minimise their impact on Europe’s air traffic. The work of the Network Manager is overseen by the Network Management Board (NMB). The NMB is comprised of representatives of an Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) from each Functional Airspace Block (FAB), commercial and non-commercial civil airspace users, airport operators and the military, as well as the European Commission and Eurocontrol (in a primarily non-voting role). It is responsible for a wide range of activities related to the functioning of Europe’s airspace network, including setting the annual Network Operations Plans and monitoring their implementation Alliances NATS is a founding member of two of Europe’s leading ANSP Alliances – the A6 Alliance and the Borealis Alliance. A6 Alliance Borealis Alliance NATS Brussels Office NATS is a regular and active participant in both technical and political discussions within Europe. We engage with bodies such as the SJU, Eurocontrol, EASA, the European Commission and the European Parliament, using our expertise and guidance to try and create a political and technical environment that enables us to focus on delivering benefits to our customers. We share an office in Brussels with some of our ANSP partners, including members of the A6 and Borealis Alliance. Latest Airspace related news and stories from around our business. Blog International travel returns in the UK Blog The European Airspace Challenge Blog Air traffic controller training, operational resilience and airspace capacity ‹ › Connect Connect with us on Social Media to stay up to date with Airspace focused news and updates. 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