Aircraft can take a direct route across Italian airspace, and when they are on the ground they can taxi to their take-off runway without unnecessary delays thanks to our new procedures
FREE ROUTE
Free Route Airspace Italy (FRA-IT) is an innovative procedure that allows all aircraft overflying at an altitude above 6,500 meters to cross the Italian skies with a direct route, no longer referring to the route network, which, from that altitude, has been completely eliminated.
In December 2016, ENAV was the first among the five major European service providers to implement the Free Route at 9,000 meters, as required by the Single European Sky regulations that defined its compulsoriness for all European states as of January 1, 2022. From 2017 to 2023, the benefits achieved in terms of flight efficiency can be quantified as 87 million kilometers saved and consequent reduction in fuel consumption of 342,000 tons and lower CO2 emissions of more than 1 million tons. Under the provisions of the EU regulation, all member states will have to comply with the 6,500-meter altitude by December 2025.
ENAV has brought forward the commissioning to March 21, 2024. Lowering the altitude to 6,500 meters over all Italian airspace also has a strong positive impact on domestic and medium-haul flights. By 2024, 94 million kilograms of fuel have been saved, reducing emissions by about 297 million kilograms of CO2. Thanks to the co-funded CLEAN ATM project - work package 2022_007_AF3, the Free Route has been extended to the airspace bordering Italy, which includes Austria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia. This allows direct routes to be planned without establishing entry, exit or intermediate points at the border between the airspaces under the jurisdiction of different states.
As part of the same project, in cooperation with MATS, the Malta provider, ENAV is planning the necessary actions to extend its Free Route to Maltese airspace as well.
A-CDM
Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) is a procedure used by Italian airports to transmit information on the status of all departing flights to the EUROCONTROL Network Management Operations Centre, (link) which dispatches them to other connected airports, optimising operating times.
With A-CDM all phases of a flight, from flight planning to ground operations, take-off, cruise and landing, are considered as a single process connecting the departing flight with the arriving one, optimising air traffic management and assistance operations, with the constant exchange of information between the actors involved, updated in real time. A-CDM is currently operational at all major Italian airports.
