Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
on the organization's website (www.eurocontrol.be/). EUROCONTROL is the Euro-
pean Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, currently with 30 member states,
and with the primary objective of developing a seamless pan-European air traffic
management (ATM) system. Accordingly, EUROCONTROL develops, coordinates
and plans for implementation of short-, medium- and long-term pan-European
ATM strategies and their associated action plans in a collective effort involving national
authorities, air-navigation service providers, civil and military airspace users, air-
ports, industry, professional organizations and relevant European institutions.
Air transport is a growth industry, and it must balance increasing demand with
responsible and responsive measures to mitigate its impact on the environment. This
goal is recognized in the EUROCONTROL Air Traffic Management (ATM) Strategy
for the years 2000+, of which a key objective is the reduction of air traffic-related
effects of aviation on the environment. Reducing the impacts of noise and emissions
from aircraft operations are the most important contributions that air traffic manage-
ment can make to mitigate the environmental impact of aviation. Whether through
improvements to airspace organization or the introduction of communications, nav-
igation and surveillance (CNS) technology, the implementation of the ATM 2000+
Strategy, encompassing the entire spectrum of flight activities, gate to gate, will help
aviation meet environmental objectives.
The need for ATM improvement
Although the global volume of controlled civil air traffic was virtually static between
1975 and 1985, since then there has been sustained growth of between 5 per cent
and 12 per cent every year. By the year 2015, forecasts suggest a probable doubling
of 1997 traffic figures. In Europe, the European ATM Programme (EATMP) has
managed to find an additional 40 per cent capacity from within existing ATM sys-
tems by improving communications and procedures designed to eliminate air traffic
bottlenecks. Yet, more will be needed to cope with the forecast growth; an entirely
new approach to ATM is required.
Although airport congestion in Europe and North America has posed a problem
for some time, airport ATM-related operations have never been integrated fully within
the overall system. Besides, airspace is still organized largely according to national
boundaries, and the levels of services provision in Europe are uneven; the lack of
uniformity in en-route and airport operations has effectively prevented the optimi-
zation of resources and is environmentally inefficient.
A composite network is needed in order to unite the three key players in aviation:
aircraft operators, the airports and ATM, which is itself made up of three parts: air
traffic control (ATC), air traffic flow management (ATFM) and airspace management
(ASM). The European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) ministers adopted this point
of view in 1997 and commissioned the drafting of a comprehensive gate-to-gate ATM
strategy. Furthermore, they stressed the growing importance of taking environmen-
tal issues into account when considering future developments.
The major objective of the EUROCONTROL ATM 2000+ Strategy is to realize
a long-standing ambition for European aviation: a uniform airspace for Europe, one
that encompasses airspace at, and around, airports as well as en route. This, applied in
conjunction with emerging technologies, will give maximum freedom of movement
