ENAIRE improves airspace maneuvers at the Tenerife South Airport by implementing the NIVARIA Project

In October, ENAIRE, the national air navigation service provider, implemented a restructuring of airspace maneuvers in the Tenerife South Airport (NIVARIA project) that has improved the operability of all flights at this airport and its approach sectors, as well as its connections with other airports in the Canaries.

The aim of the project is to comply with European regulatory requirements and optimize air traffic management, while also enhancing the efficiency of air operations. It has also made the airport more accessible, since the flight procedures implemented rely on the concept of performance-based navigation (PBN), minimizing the current dependence on land-based navaids, with the financial savings and operational advantages that entails.

Safer, more sustainable

The implementation of this project includes modifications and improvements to the instrument departure, arrival and approach procedures at the Tenerife South Airport, and to connections to other airports in the archipelago, which was made possible by the most advanced technologies in airspace design.

The expected benefits of implementing the project are of various natures and influence different relevant actors in air transport. With regard to operational safety, the implementation of the NIVARIA project will result in more predictable maneuvers as these become more standard, and will reduce the complexity of air traffic management, which will benefit both aircraft crews and the controllers responsible for air traffic management.

From an environmental point of view, the new airspace structure of NIVARIA and its associated procedures allow aircraft to fly more efficient profiles. In this regard, since the proposed changes will improve air traffic management and flows to and from the airport, the result will be shorter flight distances and times, and thus lower fuel consumption and atmospheric emissions of polluting gases.

Financial and service quality improvements

The NIVARIA project also entails a series of improvements directly related to on-time performance and reduced delays, which will consequently yield economic savings for airlines.

The NIVARIA project allows operations to be managed more efficiently, which translates into shorter distances flown by aircraft. This will result in burning less fuel and lower emissions of polluting gases into the atmosphere. Furthermore, the use of satellite navigation will allow land-based installations to be streamlined in the future, which will make it possible to reduce the costs of maintaining and replacing these installations.

In short, the implementation of the NIVARIA project will provide great benefits from the point of view of safety, efficient operations, and environmental sustainability.

The implementation of the NIVARIA project and the modernization of the procedures associated with it will make it possible to adapt to the regulatory requirements that are currently planned for 2024 and 2030 in European Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1048, with regard to the need to have instrument departure and arrival routes based on the PBN concept, as well as approaches that rely on satellite technology.

The project has undergone the relevant environmental analysis and required user consultations, and it has been approved by Spain's National Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) and the Inter-Ministry Commission on Defence, Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda (CIDETMA) before being included in the aeronautical information publication (AIP-Spain).

During the first few weeks after implementation, a transition plan is in place, approved by AESA, in order to confirm the proper implementation and adaptation of the new procedures.