• Main navigation

      • About SESAR
        • Discover SESAR
        • Vision
        • Members
        • Governance
        • Funding
      • Approach
        • Overview
        • ATM Master Plan
        • Development
        • Local deployment
        • The global dimension
      • Smart ATM
        • What is it
        • Digitalisation
        • U-space
        • Artificial intelligence
        • Virtual centres
        • Remote tower
        • Connected ATM
        • Smart airports
      • Sustainable ATM
      • Project and results
        • Innovation pipeline
        • Exploratory research
        • Industrial research
        • Large scale demos
        • SESAR Solutions
      • News & Events
        • News
        • Events
        • Webinars
        • Past events
        • SESAR in the media
        • E-news
        • SESAR Awards
        • Interviews
      • Library
        • Key publications
        • Technical library

    Sustainable ATM

    Enabling Greener Flights

    Sustainable ATM

    • Enabling greener flights
    • Latest news
    • Sustainable solutions
    • Green deal
    • Digital European sky

    SESAR is playing an important role, alongside other stakeholders in the ATM value chain, by addressing inefficiencies in air traffic management. Through our research and innovation programme we are seeking to bring about a digital transformation in ATM,  developing technological solutions that can deliver a “perfect flight” in terms of carbon emissions reduction and that can create a fully connected airspace.

    This requires looking at every phase of the flight and use of the airspace, and seeing what technologies can be used to eliminate fuel inefficiencies. It also requires synchronised data exchange and operations on the ground and in the air to ensure maximum impact.

    Much of the focus of the work has been on making taxi-out operations more predictable and efficient, reducing  holding patterns and vectoring in terminal airspace upon arrival; and optimising trajectories through the use of i4D, among other technologies. All of which bring fuel savings.

     

    enviro flight phases

    A perfect flight is composed of several innovative procedures, including:

    • Optimised climb and descent operations, which are already implemented at several European airports
    • Free routing in the cruise phase of flight, to be operational Europe-wide by 2025
    • Optimised extended arrival management, eliminating unnecessary holding, fuel burn and emissions with planned implementation across Europe by 2025
    • Steeper approaches for landing, helping to reduce noise levels around airports between now and 2030

    Get more details for each phase of flight

    • Optimised climb

    • Free routing

    • Steeper approaches

    • Optimised descent

    • Extended arrival management

    "Through our research and innovation programme we are seeking to bring about a digital transformation in ATM, developing technological solutions that can deliver a “perfect flight” in terms of carbon emissions reduction and that can create a fully connected airspace."

    Florian Guillermet, Executive Director, SESAR Joint Undertaking

    Latest 'green' News

    • 29.09.2021

      Greener trajectory

      Read more
    • 23.02.2021

      Sustainability, airspace optimisation and urban air mobility – focus of latest very large-scale demonstrations

      Read more
    • 22.02.2021

      ALBATROSS, the most energy-efficient flying bird

      Read more
    • 27.01.2021

      The green promise of aircraft taxiing technologies

      Read more
    • 11.12.2020

      Four-dimensional trajectory data: a pathway to decarbonisation

      Read more
    • 18.11.2020

      Environmentally-friendly approach profiles: the challenge for pilots and controllers

      Read more
    • 19.11.2020

      How innovation supports continuous descent operations

      Read more

    Webinars & vodcasts

    • 4 of December, 2020
      14:30 > 16:00
      Online event

      SESAR Digital Academy Webinar: Greener ATM - Green departures and arrivals

      Read more
    • 14 of December, 2020
      14:30 > 16:00
      Online event

      SESAR Digital Academy Webinar: Greener ATM - En-route

      Read more
    • 19 of November, 2020
      14:30 > 16:00
      Online event

      Smart and sustainable solutions for greener ATM - Airport domain

      Read more
    • 17 of November, 2020
      11:00 > 11:45
      Broadcast from SESAR JU, Brussels, BE

      Building a better future (Digital Sky Vodcast)

      Read more

    Delivered sustainable solutions

    • 19.02.2018

      Point Merge in complex terminal airspace

      See the solution
    • 29.02.2016

      Continuous descent operations (CDO) using point merge

      See the solution
    • 20.02.2019

      Optimised traffic management to enable free routing in high and very high complexity environment

      See the solution
    • Extended Arrival Management (AMAN) horizon

      Read more
    • 04.03.2017

      Cross Border SESAR Trials for Enhanced Arrival Management

      See the project
    • 20.02.2019

      Enhanced rotorcraft operations in the TMA

      See the solution
    • 20.02.2019

      Optimised traffic management to enable free routing in high and very high complexity environment

      See the solution
    • 20.02.2019

      High productivity controller team organisation

      See the solution
    • 23.06.2016

      RNP1 reversion based on DME/DME

      See the solution
    • 23.06.2016

      EFPL supporting SBT transition to RBT

      See the solution
    • 06.02.2020

      Reactive flight delay criticality indicator (FDCI)

      See the solution

    More solutions in the pipeline

    • 13.02.2019

      Wake turbulence separation optimisation

      See the solution
    • 15.02.2019

      Enhanced approach procedures enabled by satellite technologies

      See the solution
    • 15.02.2019

      Traffic optimisation on single and multiple runway airports

      See the solution
    • 15.02.2019

      Minimum-pair separations based on required surveillance performance (RSP)

      See the solution
    • 15.02.2019

      Enhanced guidance assistance to aircraft and vehicles on the airport surface combined with routing

      See the solution
    • 20.02.2019

      Improved parallel operations

      See the solution
    • 20.02.2019

      Dynamic extended TMA (E-TMA) for advanced continuous climb and descent operations

      See the solution
    • 20.02.2019

      Flight-centric air traffic control

      See the solution
    • 20.02.2019

      Advanced separation management

      See the solution
    • 06.01.2017

      AU Processes for trajectory definition

      See the solution
    • 06.01.2017

      Management of dynamic airspace configurations

      See the solution
    • 06.01.2017

      Network prediction and performance

      See the solution
    • 06.01.2017

      Integrated local DCB processes

      See the solution
    • 06.01.2017

      Collaborative network management

      See the solution
    • 23.06.2016

      GBAS (for challenging environments)

      See the solution
    • 23.06.2016

      Multi-constellation/Dual frequency (MC/DF) GNSS

      See the solution
    • 20.02.2019

      Trajectory-based operations

      See the solution
    • 23.06.2016

      Flight object interoperability

      See the solution

    The European Green Deal launched by the European Commission in December 2019 aims to create the world’s first climate-neutral bloc by 2050. This ambitious target calls for deep-rooted change across the aviation sector and places significantly stronger focus on the environmental impact of flying.

    In SESAR, we want to build further on the progress we have made so far on the environment so that we can contribute to making the European airspace the most efficient and environmentally friendly sky to fly in the world.

    -> More on the Green Deal

    Considering the urgency of the situation, we need to look at how we can accelerate the digital transformation in order to support a swift transition to greener aviation. Large-scale demonstrators will be key to bridging the industrialisation gap, bringing these innovations to scale and encouraging rapid implementation by industry.

    These will focus on solutions enabling “perfect flights” from an emissions perspective, eliminating unnecessary ATC interventions that would result in a degradation of the optimum trajectory and generate extra emissions. The demonstrators would also facilitate the integration of the next generation of aircraft that will be cleaner and quieter.

    It is estimated that a digital European sky could save 28 million tonnes of CO2 per year, which is roughly equivalent to the CO2 produced by 3.2 million people or the population in the metropolitan area of a city like Madrid.

    • twitter
    • rss
    • youtube
    • linkedin

    Footer

    • Practical info
      • Our Staff
      • Contact Us
      • Visiting Us
      • Newsletter
      • Member of the network of EU Agencies
    • Careers
      • Open posts
      • Jobs archive
    • Procurement & Grants
      • Archives
    • Legal Notice
      • Legal disclaimer
      • Copyright notice
      • Use of SESAR logo
      • Use of U-space logo
      • Access to documents
      • Use of languages
    • Data Protection
      • Personal data protection
      • Use of cookies
      • Social media monitoring
    EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP
    © Copyright SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking