IATA and ACETA to Cooperate to Strengthen Spanish Air Navigation Strategy with ENAIRE

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and ENAIRE, the Spanish air navigation services provider, together with ACETA, the Spanish Airlines’ Association, have agreed to further reinforce their cooperation for the development and implementation of ENAIRE´s Strategic Plan, “FlightPlan 2020”. This will deliver benefits to the travelling public and the Spanish economy through reform and modernization of Spanish airspace and air traffic management (ATM).

At present, air transport contributes 7% to Spain’s GDP and supports around 400,000 jobs. Successful airspace modernization is expected to create significant benefits, generating an extra 1.4% in GDP annually and supporting about 65,000 jobs over the next 20 years.

The demand for aviation in Spain is set to grow by 4% per year until 2020, resulting in 300,000 new flights to, from and within Spain. Servicing this demand - while ensuring safety, reducing costs, CO2 emissions and delays - requires Spain to modernize its airspace and ATM network.

“FlightPlan 2020” builds on the success of recent airspace and wider ATM developments put in place by ENAIRE and Spanish stakeholders to respond to the Single European Sky objectives and to further support the modernization and improvements in safety, environmental footprint, operational performance, cost efficiency and business continuity, which are pillars of the ENAIRE Strategic Plan.

Customer first

The agreement reached by ENAIRE, IATA, and ACETA will be based on three main pillars: a shared stakeholder approach, airspace management, and technical modernisation of the ATM systems. Objectives will include:

• the strategic direction for the future of ATM
• airspace evolution to further support capacity and more efficient routes, to further reduce fuel burn and emissions, while maintaining best practice business continuity
• enhanced cooperation of key Spanish stakeholders with European partners to accelerate the Single European Sky initiative (SESAR).

With the aim to reinforce a well-established collaborative environment and a customer oriented approach, ENAIRE, IATA and ACETA are committed to cooperate with all aviation stakeholders to deliver and implement a successful airspace strategy.

Ángel Luis Arias Serrano, Director General of ENAIRE, explained: "ENAIRE´s Strategic Plan, Flight Plan 2020, will be an essential element in the development of an ATM strategy with the full involvement of stakeholders to further support the on-going modernization of our technology and operations. Our objective is to contribute to the achievement of our ambitious targets and mission, the safety and punctuality of the millions of passengers who fly in Spanish airspace, while contributing to the growth of national and European air transport through efficiency and innovation."

IATA’s Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, said: "This partnership marks a defining moment in the relationship between ENAIRE and its customer airlines. ENAIRE has shown real vision to bring airlines into the strategic direction of air navigation service provision. Together, we can help create a plan which will bring great benefits to Spain, both now and for the future. This is only the start of a long and fruitful partnership to come. We look forward to working with ENAIRE to make their “FlightPlan 2020” not only a success for Spain, but also a key contribution towards achieving the goals of the Single European Sky."

Antonio Pimentel, Chairman of ACETA, remarked: “ACETA welcomed ENAIRE’s “Flight Plan 2020” as a very positive step towards the improvement and modernisation of Spanish ATM from the beginning. Now, by allowing the participation of airlines, ENAIRE is clearly signalling their openness and that they are ready to improve their National ATM strategy. We’re excited that this cooperation will help ENAIRE expand the capacity of the Spanish airspace to accommodate safely and economically the traffic increases expected in the coming years.”

IATA has presented the key drivers for the Spanish ATM strategy to ENAIRE, highlighting its main objectives and benefits in terms of safety, environment, flight efficiency, connectivity (including interoperability), cost efficiency and business continuity. The air traffic growth forecasts require ENAIRE to maximize its efforts towards meeting the great challenges that air transport is facing in the coming years: operational safety, operational efficiency (which is key to competitiveness), capacity, innovation, quality (with punctuality as a binding commitment), and environmental sustainability.

Ínigo de la Serna and Alexandre de Juniac (IATA)