By optimizing routes, we promote the reduction of aircraft fuel consumption and emissions and lead the way with our contribution to "Climate Action" (SDG No. 13)
PROJECTS TO REDUCE CO₂ EMISSIONS
Flight Efficiency Plan (FEP)
Developed in the last decade, the Flight Efficiency Plan is a multi-year plan of measures that form part of the EU’s Single European Sky programme. It seeks to create an airspace structure that optimizes the aviation network. The objective of the FEP is to contribute to the reduction of customer management costs and environmental impact and to introduce a cutting-edge navigation system in Italian airspace.
Results:
- increasingly efficient flight profiles;
- direct routes with positive effects on costs, consumption and harmful emissions;
- reduction of flight times with consequent reduction of management costs.
Free Route Airspace Italy (FRAIT)
In December 2016 we implemented the Free Route Italy, a procedure that allows all overflight aircraft, at an altitude above 9,000 meters, to cross the Italian skies with a direct route without referring to a precise network of routes.
Below are the savings (the years 2020 and 2021 are conditioned by the reduction in air transport activity, due to COVID-19):
- 2017: saving of 30 million kg of fuel, equal to 95 million kg of CO₂
- 2018: saving of 43 million kg of fuel, equal to 135 million kg of CO₂
- 2019: saving of 53 million kg of fuel, equal to 167 million kg of CO₂
- 2020: saving of 29 million kg of fuel, equal to 91 million kg of CO₂
- 2021: saving of 48 million kg of fuel, equal to 152 million kg of CO₂
- 2022: saving of 65 million kg of fuel, equal to 205 million kg of CO₂
Thanks to Free Route - from 2017 to 2022 - we have saved airlines 848.8 million kg of CO2.
Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM)
Airport Collaborative Decision-Making (A-CDM) is an operating procedure used in the biggest Italian airports (Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Venice Tessera, Naples Capodichino and Bergamo Orio al Serio) based on cooperation among ENAV, Airport Managers and the Eurocontrol Network Manager Operations Centre (NMOC). The objective of the procedure is to enhance the efficiency and resilience of airport operations by optimising the use of resources through continuous exchanges of information.
Information on departing and arriving flights is exchanged by all the stakeholders involved through the technological platform that supports A-CDM. Basing itself on the information received from airlines, the platform is able to calculate the ideal time at which flights should start their engines in order to find the quickest taxiing route and avoid waits before take-off. With the adoption of A-CDM, at Fiumicino every departing aircraft saves an average of 2 minutes fewer taxiing times, while in other airports, which are less congested and with a less complex airport layout, the average saving is about 40 seconds.
The reduction in taxiing time brings substantial environmental sustainability benefits owing to lower fuel consumption and consequently fewer emissions. At Fiumicino, with this procedure there were about 13,900 tons of CO₂ emissions fewer in 2019. In considering all the airports in which A-CDM is operational, the reduction in emissions is about 22,300 tons of CO₂ a year.
Arrival Manager (AMAN)
Il sistema Arrival Manager (AMAN) supporta il Controllore del Traffico Aereo (CTA) nella gestione della sequenza di arrivo degli aeromobili in condizioni di traffico intenso. Tale sistema indica al controllore la sequenza ottimale di arrivo per gli aeromobili calcolata per consentire la riduzione dell’intervallo fra successivi avvicinamenti. Tale riduzione consente un risparmio di distanza da percorrere per ciascun aeromobile e abilita sia la riduzione di carburante – con conseguente minor emissione in atmosfera da parte delle compagnie aeree – sia una riduzione dei tempi di volo a beneficio dei passeggeri.
Per produrre i benefici attesi, il sistema AMAN deve interagire con diversi sistemi, tra cui principalmente il Flight Data Processing System (FDPS) da cui ricava le informazioni sul piano di volo di ogni singolo aeromobile, e il sistema Radar Data Processing System (RDPS) per l’aggiornamento in tempo reale della posizione dei singoli velivoli.
Nel corso del 2023, AMAN è stato implementato anche presso l’ACC di Milano, per l’ottimizzazione delle sequenze di avvicinamento presso gli aeroporti di Milano Malpensa, Milano Linate e Bergamo Orio al Serio. Tale sistema era stato implementato nel corso del 2022 presso l’ACC di Roma, per la gestione dei voli in arrivo all’aeroporto di Roma Fiumicino.
| Benefici generati da AMAN nel 2023 (Roma Fiumicino) | |
|---|---|
| Risparmio di carburante abilitato | 366,2 t |
| Risparmio di emissioni abilitato | 1.153,4 tCO₂ |
