ATM evolution critical to SES delivery

ERA, along with the International Air Transport Association and the Association of European Airlines, today published: A Blueprint for the Single European Sky. The report outlines a roadmap for achieving the SES goals and highlights the role that ATM has to play in working towards them.

“A Single European Sky in Europe is critical to the future success of Europe's airlines but it is evolving far too slowly. ERA has been pushing for many years to help deliver results. Yet, there still seems to be a lack of urgency to deliver greater efficiency and cost effectiveness for the end user airlines.”

“The airline industry needs to start seeing positive cost benefits for the implementation of SES and any new technology,” notes McNamara, “and European states and air navigation service providers have a very important role to play in this.”

McNamara believes that leadership is key to the success of both projects. “Perhaps what the SES lacks is a CEO,” he suggests. “The project has no single leader - instead we have a series of personalities, politicians and committees who are all, with the best of intentions, contributing to delivering a solution but who, collectively, lack a single sense of purpose and vision.”

“States, in particular, need to live up to their promises to deliver if they want to ensure a viable European aviation industry,” he adds