Free Route Airspace Maastricht - FRAM

Since March 2011, 142 new direct routes are available in the airspace controlled by MUAC. These new direct routes will substantially contribute to reduce flight and engine running time, fuel burn, gas emissions and costs in high-density European airspace.

To ensure maximum safety the new routes will initially be used during the least busy hours of the night. As from the end of the year, they will also be used during weekends.

This development is the first step in the implementation of the Free Route Airspace Maastricht (FRAM) programme, which aims to put in place a direct route network for 24/7 operations, saving airlines several million km of flight time.

The savings expected from the first phase of FRAM deployment during nights and weekends are estimated at 1.16 million km per year, resulting in economies of 3,700 t of kerosene, 12,000 t of CO² and 37 t of NO_X when compared to the fixed route network.

• As the crow flies - Free route airspace Maastricht (Brochure) pdf - 708.735 kB
• Free route airspace: concrete examples ppt - 4,811.264 kB