Society’s concerns about the environmental impact of aviation are much wider than simply reducing public exposure to noise.
They now encompass air quality around airports and climate change in particular. Although the aviation industry has cut aircraft noise and emission levels impressively in a relatively short period of time, there is no technological “silver bullet” on the horizon that will further reduce aviation’s environmental impact significantly. Therefore, it is a formidable challenge to achieve more environmentally sustainable air traffic and airport operations, while also meeting safety, capacity, security and economic requirements.

Many readers will recall that the capacity of pan-European airspace was increased by approximately 15% on 24 January 2002, when the simultaneous implementation of the Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM) by 41 States created six additional flight levels between 29,000 and 41,000 feet. This has been instrumental in reducing air traffic management-related delays over the last two years. Air navigation service providers, aircraft operators, the military, regulators, industry and the EUROCONTROL Agency as managing agent, all played a substantial part in making this collaborative effort a major success.

The EUROCONTROL EATM Service Business Unit oversees a management process designed to bring ATM improvements into operational effect as quickly as possible. This is the European Convergence and Implementation Plan (ECIP), which describes commonly agreed actions to be taken by the EUROCONTROL and other ECAC States. The ECIP now includes its first two environmental objectives which, not surprisingly, focus on alleviating aviation's environmental impact at airports. These are collaborative environmental management at airports and basic continuous descent
approach. EUROCONTROL and the UK's National Air Traffic Services explain how these concepts are being put into practice in the following two articles.

Only through collaboration between operational stakeholders can effective air trafficrelated environmental management at airports be achieved. This ‘Collaborative Environmental Management’ (CEM) ensures that operations are optimised to suit local requirements and that this is achieved within a wider harmonised framework, the UK National Air Traffic Services (NATS), which provides air traffic control services at Manchester Airport, explains.

Air transport has made significant progress in minimising the effects of its operations on the environment. It is continually reducing noise and emissions, improving fuel consumption and introducing more sustainable technologies, as Philippe Rochat, Director Aviation Environment of IATA, explains.

To assess properly the environmental challenges facing Europe’s airports, one must fully grasp the scale and reach of an industry that comprises more than 130 airlines, a network of over 450 airports and some 60 air navigation service providers. This complex set-up forms a unique global network linking people, countries and cultures – and plays a vital role in the further integration and development of Europe. Moreover, this system is increasingly accessible to a greater number of people who can now afford to travel by air for leisure and business purposes.

“During my 18 undistinguished months as a minister whose responsibilities included aviation, I learned two things. First, that the demands of the aviation industry are insatiable. Second, that successive governments have usually given way to them.
Although nowadays the industry pays lip service to the notion of sustainability, its demands are essentially unchanged. It wants more of everything – airports, runways, terminals.”
Chris Mullin MP, “Government and airlines” article, London Evening Standard, 14 January 2003.

In its corporate mission statement, Deutsche Lufthansa AG makes a clear commitment to the guiding principle of sustainable development. In addition to continuous investments in innovative technology and a young, environmentally compatible fleet, support for scientific projects – particularly those concerning climatic research – play a prominent role in Lufthansa’s corporate strategy. For Lufthansa, knowing exactly what effects flying has on the environment forms the basis for effective preventative measures.

Taking into account the enormous improvements already made with regard to the environmental aspects of aviation, one may ask whether it is still necessary to pay so much attention to environmental aviation issues.

Mai 1953: le petit garçon belge que j’étais s’endort les yeux mi-clos, reposé, bienheureux, au pays des rêves, à l’écoute rassurante du ronronnement d’un avion à hélices survolant la banlieue bruxelloise, comme tous les soirs vers 21h. Il l’aide à s’envoler au pays des Mille et Une Nuits.
Mai 2003: le même individu, devenu adulte, prend connaissance d’une crise gouvernementale en Belgique. Motif: le bruit des avions au-dessus de la banlieue bruxelloise.

EUROCONTROL hosted a brainstorming Workshop on ATM and Environment issues at its Institute of Air Navigation Services, Luxembourg, on 15-16 October 2003. Organised by the Environment Domain, this invitation-only event was a great success. Attendees represented a broad mix of nationalities and stakeholder interests, including the environmental lobby.

All relevant documentation and reports can be downloaded from the EEC web site

EUROCONTROL has contributed to Iberia's 2004 Corporate Social Responsibility Report at the kind invitation of Iberia.