This Regulation establishes the Single European Sky (SES) framework to improve air traffic safety standards, contribute to sustainable aviation development, and enhance overall performance of air traffic management in Europe. It consolidates and updates previous regulations on air navigation services, airspace management, and network functions.The Regulation consists of six chapters covering general provisions, national supervisory authorities, service provision, network management, airspace/interoperability/technological innovation, and final provisions. Key structural changes include merging three previous regulations into one comprehensive act and introducing new provisions on environmental performance, digitalization, and unmanned aircraft integration.The main provisions include:
- Establishment of independent national supervisory authorities to oversee air navigation service providers
- Introduction of performance and charging schemes with targets for environment, capacity and cost-efficiency
- Creation of a Performance Review Board to advise on implementation of performance schemes
- Designation of air traffic service providers and conditions for cross-border service provision
- Network management functions for optimizing airspace use and managing traffic flows
- Requirements for interoperability and technological modernization through SESAR deployment
- Integration of unmanned aircraft through common information services
- Enhanced focus on environmental performance and sustainability
The Regulation is particularly significant as it introduces stronger environmental requirements, modernizes the regulatory framework for air navigation services, and aims to improve the efficiency of European airspace while maintaining high safety standards. It directly affects how air traffic services are provided and overseen across the EU.
