Beginning of SECSI FRA implementation

Benefits to airliners: shorter flight routes, reduced fuel consumption and CО2 emission

Beginning of SECSI FRA implementation

01.02.2018

PRESS RELEASE

February 1st, 2018

 

South East Common Sky Initiative Free Route Airspace (SECSI FRA) has been successfully implemented on February 1st, 2018.

Less than a year had passed since ANSPs from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro and Slovenia had signed Memorandum of Cooperation, aimed towards South East Common Sky Initiative Free Route Airspace (SECSI FRA) implementation.

Since February 1st, SECSI FRA initiative offers airspace users significant benefits along the South East Axis, by delivering the shortest routes options from Central Europe to Greece, Egypt or Turkey, being tourist destinations. The benefits gained through the SECSI FRA initiative implementation are substantial. Based on the direct (shortest) routes planning and flying possibility, potential savings per day are up to 1.940 NM in flight distance thus achieving savings estimated at 285 minutes in flight time, reduction in fuel consumption of 8,000 kg and reduction in CO2 emission for about 25,500 kg.

SECSI FRA is expected to deliver potential savings to airlines of 600-700.000 NM in flight distance per year. It will make more options available when determining the user-preferred trajectory. Full, free route airspace usage in the airspace of the states who are participants of the initiative, allows airlines to take better advantage of the wind or to efficiently avoid congested parts of the airspace, active military zones or zones with bad meteorological conditions. Direct routes planning improve predictability of aircraft trajectory and reduce ATC workload.

SECSI implementation not only works towards achieving the goals of the European Commission regarding the implementation of “Free Route Airspace” across Europe but also fulfils airspace users’ requests for having multiple route options available for the same city-pair. This cooperation will lead to creation of one of the largest international airspace of Free Route Airspace usage in Europe and represents significant step towards achieving a common European Free Route Airspace by 2022.