Enav, the National Society for Air Traffic Control which today confirmed Roberta Neri in the role of CEO, recorded extraordinary successes in terms of efficiency thanks to a flight efficiency plan based on two strategic programmes, the Flight Efficiency Plan and the Free Route.
The most recent Free Route – launched on 8 December – has achieved very important results to date. It is an innovative program thanks to which all aircraft flying above 11.000 meters have the option of following a direct route from an entry point to an exit point of the national airspace without having to refer to the route network anymore.
In just 24 days since the launch of Free Route, the airlines operating in our skies have saved almost 4 million kg of fuel, with approx 1 million km less travelled. In fact, Enav has made available – for more than 1600 aircraft a day – shorter routes of around 25 km for each flight, with a saving of around 1 minute and 45 seconds. All this translates into lower fuel consumption which obviously varies according to the type of aircraft.
The program has already started Flight Efficiency Plan (FEP), which has been working on it since 2008 reconfiguration of national airspace, allowing the reduction of distances and flight times thanks to more direct routes and more efficient flight profiles in the vertical plane.
In 2016, FEP allowed for a decrease about 500.000 km flown with a relative reduction in fuel used of around 2 million kg. From 2008 to the present, the program has contributed to a fuel savings of around 100 million euros.
The two programs proposed by Enav, implemented thanks to the updating of technological systems, have led to a overall savings for the airlines of 4,4 million euros. In addition to having an impact on the economic side, the results create important environmental benefits: for every kg less fuel consumed by each aircraft, there are 3 kg less CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
