Meeting the environmental challenge will require innovation, cooperation and data-driven intelligence

Traffic is growing and pressure to decarbonise the aviation sector is still high on all political agendas. Requests for more expertise, data and tools are increasing at a time when EUROCONTROL must implement efficiency measures to maintain the cost base.

New technologies impacting the air traffic management (ATM) network such as electric-, hybrid and hydrogen-powered aircraft will come into service in the coming years. Addressing environmental challenges is crucial to maintain EUROCONTROL’s capability and credibility to support its wide range of stakeholders.

Climate change is challenging the aviation sector, with operations and infrastructure impacted by more frequent extreme weather conditions, so building the resilience of the aviation sector is critical and involves a lot of effort in terms of expertise and data.

“This is a time when we have to continue delivering the best value for our stakeholders, being flexible and open to new challenges, as well as mindful of the current economical and geopolitical situation,” said Tânia Cardoso Simões, EUROCONTROL’s Director, European Green Sky. “Working with my senior management team, I am taking a comprehensive look at the European Green Sky Directorate’s (EGSD’s) organisation, objectives and priorities so we can fully align our mission and ambition with our unique expertise and available human and financial resources.”

EGSD is founded on four pillars shaped to provide the most cutting-edge technical support to European aviation in the key areas of aviation research and innovation, aviation sustainability, datadriven aviation intelligence and international and institutional cooperation and stakeholder support. “The interconnection of these areas is where EGSD brings added value; the sum is bigger than the parts,” said Tânia Cardoso Simões.

Research and innovation is defined by the ambition to continue making the EUROCONTROL Innovation Hub (EIH) the centre of innovation for European ATM, by federating a network of innovation and strengthening its customer-oriented approach, accelerating the added value of innovation for the benefit of Member States and operational stakeholders.

The main area for projects related to research and innovation is SESAR3, including simulation, and it also covers incremental innovation and U-Space. Within SESAR, EUROCONTROL is leading several projects in three main areas: trajectory-based operations (TBO); network management, and seamless integration of new entrants. Additionally, EUROCONTROL contributes to more than 20 other projects in green aviation, AI and digital assistant, air traffic services (ATS) delegation/virtual centre and terminal manoeuvring area (TMA) optimisation, involving partners from 25 Member States.

The EUROCONTROL Innovation Hub is modernising its simulators and will be relocated in 2028 to the Paris-Saclay Innovation Cluster, easily accessible from everywhere in Europe, reinforcing the hub as a place federating a collaborative and user-driven innovation.

“In terms of sustainability, EUROCONTROL supports the transition to net-zero emissions of the aviation sector and to increase climate resilience, to avoid and decrease operational disruption due to extreme weather events,” said Tânia Cardoso Simões. “This can be accomplished by playing a leading role in the support of European Aviation in Environmental Policy design and implementation and providing environmental modelling and assessment tools.”

Under the Flying Green Strategy, EUROCONTROL delivers services, data and tools supporting environmental policy design and implementation and the transition towards Net Zero and climate resilience. Part of this support includes providing environmental impact assessment and modelling tools which are used to measure CO₂ and non-CO₂ emissions, air quality and noise. Additionally, services related to aviation sustainability awareness and training, as well as regular reports, studies and high-level papers targeting various audiences contribute to raising awareness about aviation sustainability challenges and decarbonisation pathways.

These services support all four International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) pillars to decarbonise the aviation sector: economic/market-based measures such as EU-ETS (EU Emissions Trading System) and CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for Aviation), including non-CO2 aviation effects in the ETS monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) framework, where EUROCONTROL is working under a cooperation agreement with the European Commission; improved airframe and engine technology supporting the entry into service of new electric/hybrid/hydrogen aircraft in the European ATM network; sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), and improved infrastructure and operations in terms of optimising the airspace and airport network.

“But the main focus is on those that are directly connected to our core business, meaning air traffic management,” said Tânia Cardoso Simões.

“We have a new Commission and new environmental challenges to be addressed. Competitiveness and green financing are becoming a priority for many stakeholders such as airlines, air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and airports. The link with ATM is important. To get access to green funds, airlines/ANSPs/airports need to report their emissions (related to their operations) and EUROCONTROL can support this process by providing data, guidelines and models.”

In terms of intelligence, EUROCONTROL provides insightful, authoritative and timely forecasts, validated data, operational analysis and other aviation intelligence for decision-makers to ensure agency-wide data and information consistency. A powerful coordinated approach has been developed for managing data and information requests from stakeholders and to communicate about pertinent aviation subjects.

“Data-driven aviation intelligence delivers the most accurate information, based on unique data and expertise for better decision-making,” said Tânia Cardoso Simões. “Dynamic products are delivered by a dedicated aviation intelligence team working round the clock to get the very latest insights out to stakeholders. This includes the EUROCONTROL Data mobile app updated daily, the Aviation Intelligence Dashboard (covering daily traffic, delays, punctuality and ANSP benchmarking, economics) and the traffic forecasts (short-, medium- and long-term).”

EUROCONTROL also delivers several publications, think papers, data snapshots and aviation trends. MIRROR is an operational decision-making support tool that provides real-time innovative flight visualisation and therefore helps operational stakeholders predict and mitigate against delays. Other tools include the ground-handling app, the connectivity tool and if desired, cost-benefit analysis with associated methodology and referenced standard inputs.

Cooperation will ensure the most value-creating relations with the Member States, including the Support to States policy, the European and international institutions, organisations and bodies, non-member states and the corresponding national institutions and organisations, in a way that provides value across these stakeholders. The clarification of roles and responsibilities will avoid duplication of work while creating synergies and alignment to strengthen European aviation.

Stakeholder support is transversal to all areas. Currently, the most demanded area of support for States is unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and is mainly related to the airspace risk assessments (ARA) required prior to the introduction of U-space. Cybersecurity is the second topic demanded, including actions ranging from workshops to penetration tests.

“All are interrelated and have an impact on the sustainability goals,” said Tânia Cardoso Simões. “The current complex political environment and geopolitical instability create uncertainty and put pressure on the network. Cybersecurity concerns, economic uncertainties, cost pressures and global competition create complex decision-making processes for all the actors across the aviation value chain. At the same time, we witness a traffic increase and face capacity and scalability challenges, that will incorporate new entrants such as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and electric and hybrid-electric aircraft.

“It’s crucial that we ensure ATM innovation allows for the required developments in the future, and EU support is vital for funding and coordination. To do so, we need to put in place a smooth and effective single-value chain where planning (with the new Master Plan), research and innovation and subsequent verification and validation ensure effective deployment and operations. Adequate standardisation and monitoring throughout the planning and innovation cycles will produce an effective implementation of a Green Sky. EUROCONTROL is focused on contributing to each link in the chain.”

All this in a time when climate change necessitates an urgent reduction of aviation’s carbon footprint through green technologies, operational efficiencies in ATM and weather variability demand research to improve ATM systems' resilience. It is therefore crucial to ensure the financing transition, by supporting the aviation industry in accessing green funds with better data and reporting.

“This is not to say that everything is about challenges that potentially slow the process. There are also many opportunities we should embrace,” said Tânia Cardoso Simões.

The Master Plan and the European Aviation Environmental Report 2025 estimate that up to 400 million tonnes of CO2 (9.3% less CO2 per flight) could be saved by 2050 with ATM innovation. The projections forecast 100 million tonnes of CO2 saved by 2035 and 200 million tonnes by 2040. Innovation in ATM is the measure that will allow more short-term results. The Digital European Sky will deliver a fully scalable system for crewed and uncrewed aviation, supported by a digital ecosystem, full air-ground system integration, and high levels of automation and connectivity by 2045. For this, it is crucial to move to an open digital architecture (ODA) and EUROCONTROL recently signed the Joint Statement on the transition to this new service delivery model.

“Overall, while significant progress has been made, achieving the vision of making Europe the most efficient and environmentally friendly sky to fly in the world by 2045 will require continued collaboration, focus on security, investment and innovation across all stakeholders in the aviation industry,” said Tânia Cardoso Simões.