IATA, Eurocontrol and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation announced a three-way deal to “expedite efficiency improvements in European air traffic management” that will achieve annual savings of 470,000 tonnes of fuel, US$550 million and 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, according to the trio.

The plan calls for an airspace redesign to accommodate a 0.1 per cent reduction in routes equivalent to 4 million nautical miles per year and US$28 million in savings, another 0.7 per cent to come from enhanced civil/military cooperation and improved flight planning (worth 30 million nautical miles and US$210 million), greater use of continuous descent approaches (worth US$140 million if implemented at 20 per cent of European airports) and taxi time reduction (1 minute at Europe’s top 50 airports would save US$170 million).

IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said the effort “will deliver tangible results in a short timeframe” and is a “leadership example for others to follow.”