Savings of 140,000 Euros per day for all airlines flying over Italy

Rome, 7 December 2016 - From tomorrow, 8 December, Enav will be giving the go-ahead for Free Route operations over Italian airspace. From 01.00 a.m. tonight (8 Dec.), it will be possible for all overflying aircraft at an altitude above 11,000 metres to cross the Italian skies following a direct flight path without having to refer to the route network, which is to be totally removed.

It's a revolutionary event for national and European air traffic because airlines will be able to plan the shortest trajectory without restrictions, thereby saving fuel, harmful emissions and, of course, costs, while maintaining the same safety levels.

Free Route will be available not only for overflying air traffic (i.e. aircraft not landing at or taking off from an Italian airport) but also for any flight that intends to fly part of its route above 11,000 metres.

Free Route means that Enav will ensure that more than 3,500 flights a day can take flight paths that are, on average, shorter by about 17.5 km, with a saving of about 1 minute and 20" providing lower fuel consumption ranging from about 55 kg for an Airbus 300 to about 300 kg for an Airbus 380. Environmental benefits will be even greater with 3 kg of fewer CO2 emissions in the atmosphere for each kg of lower fuel consumption per aircraft.

We are talking about a total reduction of 61,250 km per day for airlines operating in the skies over Italy.

If we assume the lowest level of consumption (i.e. 55 kg for the Airbus 300) for all the 3,500 flights a day above 11,000 metres, the total savings will be about 140,000 Euros.

Enav is the first among the five major European service providers to implement Free Route, in line with the European rules on the Single European Sky which must be brought in by all European states by 1 January 2022.

With the implementation of the Free Route program, Enav has completed its reorganization plan for Italian airspace, started in 2014. It allows maximum flight efficiency to be achieved, generating benefits for both airlines and the environment.

The CEO Roberta Neri stated : This result has been achieved thanks to two key factors: technological development and the quality of our operational staff. We are particularly proud to be the first to implement such an important project at European level and to offer airlines flying over Italy a service that increasingly meets their needs, while maintaining maximum levels of safety.