3.1 Digital European Sky vision – Making Europe the most efficient and environmentally friendly sky to fly in the world

It is 2045 and European air traffic management is fully integrated into a multimodal transport system (including IAM solutions such as air taxis), enabling passengers to move seamlessly from door to door, safely reaching their destination on time, with the lowest environmental footprint possible. All flights/missions (crewed or uncrewed) operate in a way that maximises, to the fullest extent, aircraft capabilities to reduce the overall climate impact of aviation (in terms of CO₂ and non-CO₂ emissions). ATM processes and services optimise each flight trajectory considering the individual performance characteristics of each aircraft, user preferences, real-time traffic, local circumstances and meteorological conditions throughout the network. Trajectory optimisation is systematic, continuous and extremely precise. Potential conflicts between trajectories or traffic bottlenecks are resolved much earlier than in the past, bringing safety benefits. Passengers know that when they take a flight their environmental footprint will be as low as it can be, and that there will be no time wasted in the air or on the ground during their journey.

This transformation is possible thanks to the implementation of a new (service-oriented and cloud-based) service delivery model in which service providers can dynamically and collaboratively scale capacity up or down in line with demand from all airspace users. These capacity adjustments are implemented in real time and ensure optimal and efficient dual (both civil and military) use of resources at any moment across the network (airspace, data, infrastructure and human–machine teaming). The continuous optimisation of every flight/mission from gate to gate is systematically guaranteed thanks to high connectivity between air–ground and ground–ground components. Each aircraft (1) is continuously connected and sharing its trajectory with a highly automated traffic management system (one single trajectory reference is agreed and shared across all actors involved on the ground and in the air). For certain phases of flight, the system is fully automated and able to handle both nominal and non-nominal situations.

In this new environment, the role of the human has significantly evolved, performing only the tasks that are too complex for automation to handle, teaming up with automation to address increasing traffic complexity. Voice communication is no longer the primary way of communicating as most routine tasks are managed through machine-to-machine applications. Large volumes of data flow securely and effectively between trusted users, enhancing the ability not only to optimise processes but also to detect, mitigate and respond to new threats. In doing so, ATM always remains resilient and adaptable to evolving security dynamics.

The design and the ability of the European ATM system to harness the full potential of digital technologies – enhancing safety, security and sustainability – has become so evident that, globally, all stakeholders have decided to adopt this model.