Implementation of H24 South East Axis Free Route Airspace - SEAFRA

Following the night implementation in April 2015, three ANSPs (SMATSA, Croatia Control and BHANSA) responsible for the ANS provision in the airspace of four States – Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina as of December 8^th have offered the airspace users H24 possibility to plan and execute flights free of fragmentation by state or AoR borders, by implementing the cross-border Free Route Airspace (FRA) – South-East Axis FRA (SEAFRA) - aboveFL325.

This is the first European FRA concept implemented over the territories of four states, two of which are members of FAB CE (Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) with Serbia and Montenegro which are not a part of the FAB initiative, proving that such cooperation is possible, and can be of benefit to all stakeholders.

The idea of such a large-scale FRA was initiated by ATM experts of the ANSPs responsible for ANS provision in different states, with a common goal of improving ATS (Air Traffic Service) safety and efficiency as well as environmental protection by reducing fuel, CO₂ and fuel NO_x emissions.

It is important to point out that the SEAFRA actions were taken in line with the Regulation 716/2014, i.e. 5 years prior to the date of January the 1^st 2022 for which the unlimited free use of airspace over 9.000 m across Europe is planned.

This project is one of the key improvements within the EU initiative on establishing the Single European Sky, regardless of the state borders or even FAB borders, aiming to enhance safety and efficiency, and to increase capacity of air traffic in Europe.