Single European Sky (SES)

KEY POINTS

Regulation (EU) 2024/2803 has several core objectives:

• making ATM less fragmented to create a seamless European network and a more integrated European airspace;
• making the use of airspace more efficient, reducing delays and lowering the operational costs of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) for airlines;
• promoting sustainability, minimising the environmental impact of aviation by requiring climate-optimised flight paths and reducing emissions;
• ensuring a high level of safety of ATM in the European Union (EU);
• encouraging innovation, thus speeding up the development and deployment of new technologies and digital solutions aiming to modernise ATM systems;
• increasing air traffic management capacity, ensuring the ATM system can handle rapidly growing air traffic volumes.

Scope

The regulation applies to the following:

• EU Member States and national authorities. The regulation includes provisions on the institutional set-up of national authorities and also addresses civil–military cooperation.
• Air navigation service providers (ANSPs). Entities responsible for managing air navigation services.
• Airspace users. These include airlines, cargo operators and other aircraft operators.
• Airports. Particularly those with significant traffic volumes.
• The network manager. The central entity responsible for contributing to the execution of the network functions, in particular coordinating air traffic flow management across the EU.
• The Performance Review Board. The board established to assist the European Commission in implementing the economic regulation of monopoly ANSPs.

Key measures

The regulation introduces several improvements to achieve its objectives.

• More choice for ANSPs on how to organise service provision, including the option to buy services on the market. This is coupled with the legal changes needed to enable the emergence of a market for support services (data, communications, meteorology, radars, etc.).
• Streamlined economic regulation, coupled with a permanent and independent Performance Review Board to advise the Commission, in order to make the regulation more effective and services more cost-efficient.
• Clear price regulation for the monopoly upstream services needed to manage drone traffic.
• Stronger independence requirements for the national regulators from ANSPs (regulated entities).
• A well-coordinated, Europe-wide, operational air traffic network manager, which also coordinates and supports the deployment of network infrastructure.

Institutional set-up

The regulation includes stronger requirements to ensure that National Supervisory Authorities (NSAs) (national regulators) are independent of ANSPs (regulated entities). This independence refers in particular to decision-making, and Member States must set rules to avoid conflicts of interest. If the NSA is not legally separate from the ANSP, the Member State needs to demonstrate how independence requirements are fulfilled. In addition, the NSA cannot seek, or take instructions from, the hierarchy within the administration with authority over the ANSP. The new requirements will enter into force on 2 December 2026.

In addition, there is a clear distinction between:

• the NSA, which is established under this regulation, and whose tasks concern implementation of this regulation – mostly the economic regulation of air navigation services; and
• the national competent authority established under the EASA Basic Regulation, and whose tasks concern safety oversight.

Both authorities may be located together (joint authority), but the decisions of the NSA must be taken independently of other decisions by the joint authority.

Certification

The regulation integrates existing requirements for the certification of ANSPs into the EASA Basic Regulation and clarifies the role of the national authorities in the certification process. It also introduces essential requirements for air traffic data services.

Requirements for service provision

The regulation includes conditions for the designation by Member States of air traffic service providers and meteorological service providers on an exclusive basis. It also introduces requirements and conditions for the procurement of air navigation services (terminal air traffic services, communication, radar, meteorology, data services, etc.) where those services are not provided directly by the air traffic service provider.

Performance and charging schemes

The regulation includes revised rules on the performance and charging schemes to regulate monopoly ANSPs. They will apply for the period starting in 2030. Performance targets need to be established in the following three key performance areas.

• Environment and climate. Minimising the environmental and climate impact of aviation.
• Capacity. Increasing the ability to handle the level of air traffic volumes.
• Cost-efficiency. Ensuring an adequate level of costs, preventing excessive charges for air navigation services.

Targets are set at the EU level by the Commission, supported by the Performance Review Board. The Commission then assesses and approves the binding national targets submitted by Member States. There is regular monitoring and reporting to ensure compliance. In addition, safety continues to be monitored.

Strengthening the role of the network manager

The network manager is tasked with contributing to the execution of the network functions, which is a responsibility of all operational stakeholders. Key responsibilities include:

• coordinating air traffic flow management and ensuring efficient use of airspace, particularly in congested areas;
• coordinating the delivery of adequate capacity for managing traffic volumes in the European network;
• supporting the implementation of new technologies and monitoring the functioning of ATM infrastructure across the network.

Innovation and digitalisation

The regulation emphasises the importance of innovation in modernising the ATM system, in particular through the innovation cycle of the SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) project, and common projects that focus on:

• developing high-performance, standardised and interoperable ATM infrastructure with more digital and data-driven technologies;
• coordinating the deployment by ANSPs and other stakeholders of new technologies, bringing benefits to the EU network in terms of efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

Sustainability

The regulation includes measures to reduce the environmental footprint of aviation, aligning with the EU’s broader climate goals, including the European Green Deal, including:

• improving the coordination of the network and optimising flight paths to reduce congestion, fuel consumption and emissions;
• setting targets for improved performance on climate and environmental aspects by ANSPs;
• supporting financial incentives for better environmental performance by airlines, possibly supporting the use of sustainable aviation fuels or more efficient aircraft.