The long-awaited Single European Sky (SES) has moved a step closer with the European Commission's High Level Group having released its findings and set 2014 as the date by which its proposals must be implemented.
While the report has been broadly welcomed by the industry, there are signs of a potential battle ahead in achieving one of the 10 recommendations put forward by the group - liberalising the services offered by air navigation service providers.
"For [air traffic management], adapt the regulatory framework and governance structures to stimulate management to deliver improved performance," recommends the group. "Where possible, facilitate the application of market principles by the unbundling and liberalisation of ANSP services."
But convincing air traffic management unions to support this could prove difficult. Jean-Pierre Etienne, president of the Joint Air Traffic Management Working Group, which represents ATM workers throughout Europe, says: "European ATM workers are ready to work with the European Commission to deliver the Single European Sky. However, we are not willing to work with the threats of consolidation, liberalisation or competition."
Another recommendation put forward by the HLG is to "address the forthcoming airport capacity crunch by asking the EC to raise the profile of this emerging bottleneck in the European aviation system and point the way forward in terms of reconciling growth and environment goals".
The group, which was created by the EC last year, says in its action plan that the EC should begin to address this issue in 2008 by raising the profile of airport capacity on the political agenda and integrating airports more closely with SES and its research programme SESAR. The report sets 2014 as the target date for its recommendations to be implemented, and 2013 as the year for the SESAR deployment phase to begin.
Source: Airline Business
