The aviation industry is one of the hardest to decarbonise and, in such a challenging environment, every contribution counts. Every gram of saved emissions makes a difference, which is where the Single European Sky (SES) initiative comes into play.
1. The Single European Sky initiative
The Single European Sky (SES) initiative was launched in 2004 to improve the performance of air traffic management (ATM) and air navigation services (ANS) through better integration of European airspace. The initiative was launched in response to delays resulting from air navigation, with the intention of reducing the fragmentation of European airspace (between Member States, civil and military usage, and technologies), thereby increasing its capacity and the efficiency of ATM and ANS.
In practice, the SES should result in reduced flight times (because of shorter paths and fewer delays) and, consequently, in lower flight costs and aircraft emissions. The stated benefits of the SES include the potential to triple airspace capacity, halve the costs of ATM, improve safety tenfold and reduce the environmental impact of aviation by up to 10%.
A proposal for a revision of the Single European Sky (SES2+) was put forward by the European Commission in 2013, but negotiations with the Parliament and Council failed to reach an agreement. Then, in 2020, in the framework of the European Green Deal, the European Commission proposed an upgrade of SES2+, aiming to introduce structural changes to ensure that the sector is fit to realise its economic potential in a balanced way, by providing for a more flexible and scalable provision of air navigation services, and fit for the current and future operating environment, and by improving on environmental performance.
SES2+ was very well received by airlines, with associations including Airlines for Europe (A4E) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) lobbying for its adoption. However, similarly to its predecessor, SES2+ remains stuck and has yet to materialise.
2. Is it realistic?
Tired of the ongoing beating around the SES2+, Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary, who previously expressed support for the initiative, has recently called it a waste of time. “The Single European Sky has gone over for 20 years, it will go over the next 20 years. I don’t have any time for the Single European Sky”, he said, mentioning that, by this point, he “couldn’t care less” about it.
It’s not an easy file. 5 Presidencies have already tried to reach an agreement, without success.
Georges Gilkinet, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Mobility
In the wake of the new Belgian Presidency of the European Council, Georges Gilkinet, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Mobility, told Simple Flying that SES2+ is a priority on the agenda, but acknowledged the possible perpetuation of the impasse.
“We will try to take advantage of the momentum at the end of the European parliamentary term, (…) although we are aware that it will not be easy given the limited negotiating time”, Gilkinet told Simple Flying. “In the light of previous failures, we have proposed a new working method with an ambitious timetable. At working party level, we are moving forward chapter by chapter – starting with the most consensual (chapters 5 and 6) – to build trust between the Member States and thus create a virtuous circle that can lead us to an agreement.”
While Gilkinet promises to fight for SES2+, Professor of Air Transport Management at the University of Antwerp & Antwerp Management School, Wouter Dewulf, believes it is “mission impossible”. In Dewulf’s view, there are too many “puzzle pieces” at play for an agreement to be reached, including the additional issue of military airspace on top of the monopoly of ATM services within each Member State. In his view, a more realistic approach to decarbonising aviation would be to consolidate some air traffic management entities instead and focus on making additional technological developments.
Whether or not the Belgian Presidency will manage to take any steps forward remains to be seen, but, if it doesn’t, what comes next? Will the EU continue to pursue the initiative in its current form or will it settle for a less ambitious approach? And, looking beyond aviation, could the deadlock of the Single European Sky for two decades indicate a failure of the fundamental pillar of European Integration on which the EU was built?
