EU adopts air traffic management 'master plan' 

EU transport ministers endorsed the European Air Traffic Management (ATM) master plan , submitted by the Commission in November 2008. The plan provides a roadmap for the development and deployment phases of the Sesar project, which is the technological and industrial dimension of the Single European Sky.

"The improvements in air traffic management could reduce flight times by 8–14 minutes and fuel consumption by 7–11% on average per flight," said Czech Transport Minister Petr Bendl, adding that a Prague-Paris flight only would save 300kg of fuel and cut CO2 emissions by a tonne. 

Ministers also specified  aspects of the ATM plan's future development. They namely underlined that the plan should be considered as an evolving document until Sesar is up and running by 2020. They also stressed that the Sesar Joint Undertaking (JU), a public-private partnership, is responsible for the execution of the plan and "retains overall control of any work delegated to Eurocontrol and over the development phase, including adequate financing and funding arrangements". 

The Commission was asked to ensure cooperation between Sesar and its US counterpart NextGen in order to achieve the highest level of interoperability between the two systems. To do this, the EU executive is expected to open negotiations on a "memorandum of cooperation" with the Federal Aviation Administration in the US. 

Eric Platteau, head of communication at the Sesar JU, told EurActiv that the undertaking had already concluded a financial deal and was in the process of finalising member admissions. Now that the Commission had adopted the ATM plan, Sesar "would move to concrete implementation of its work programme," which consists of 16 work packages and 295 projects, Platteau said. Implementation should begin in May or June, he said.  

The Czech EU Presidency also informed the ministers of the European Parliament's first-reading agreement, reached last week, on the Single European Sky II package, which amends two regulations, on the Single Sky and the European aviation safety agency. 

The Council should adopt the package within a couple of months, once the texts have undergone legal checks and translation (EurActiv 26/03/09).