FABEC NSAs consult stakeholders on draft RP4 Joint Performance Plan in Luxembourg

Under the French Presidency, the National Supervisory Authorities (NSAs) met with stakeholders, including airspace users and air navigation service providers (ANSPs), to discuss the draft FABEC Performance Plan for the fourth reference period (RP4) covering 2025-2029. Stakeholder consultation is a legal requirement under Article 10.4 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/317.

FABEC is currently the only Functional Airspace Block (FAB) submitting a joint performance plan. Regional coordination is not only beneficial for achieving optimal performance in the complex and busy airspace at the heart of Europe, but it also contributes to the objectives of the Single European Sky initiative launched by the European Commission in 2004.

As the terminal capacity and cost-efficiency targets had already been consulted at the national level by the individual States, the focus of the meeting was on the proposed FABEC common target in the areas of safety, environment, capacity, and associated incentive schemes.

Based on the FABEC States Treaty, which entered into force in 2013, States, NSAs, and ANSPs have found effective ways to manage air traffic in the FABEC airspace through close and strong cooperation with the aim of working towards an operationally seamless airspace achieving optimal performance in terms of safety, environmental sustainability, capacity, cost-efficiency, and military mission effectiveness.

The current situation is characterised by high traffic volatility because of geopolitical and economic uncertainties. In its latest baseline scenario for the FABEC area published in March 2024, EUROCONTROL already forecasts 6.0 million IFR movements in 2024, which would be 96 percent of the 2019 level.

The draft FABEC Performance Plan for RP4 is available at https://www.fabec.eu/who-we-are/optimised-performance/a-common-fabec-performance-plan