Like all other modes of transport, aviation has both an environmental and a climate impact. Aviation today accounts for 2-3 per cent of global air pollution. Naviair is committed to ensuring that the environmental and climate impacts in our part of the aviation value chain are reduced. We therefore continuously strive to reduce the impact of our activities by developing our procedures and technology.

Naviair plays an active part in helping to reduce noise at and around the airports at which we are responsible for ATM. Noise inconvenience is reduced through traffic procedures as well as landing and take-off restrictions at these airports.

Aviation accounts for approximately 2 per cent of global CO2 emissions (IPCC 2007). Naviair helps to cut CO2 and other polluting gases by continuously developing efficiency-improving procedures and infrastructure systems. This ensures partly that aircraft take the most direct route between destinations and fly at the most fuel-efficient altitude for each type of aircraft, and partly that aircraft take off, land and operate on the ground at the airports with the lowest possible fuel consumption.

Aviation safety is naturally always given top priority in ATM. While maintaining the highest standards of safety, Naviair has succeeded in optimising its ATM and implementing initiatives in the last few decades that are sustainable as regards the climate.

ATM is optimised by prioritising a service-minded culture, developing efficient traffic concepts and making flexible use of airspace. Against this background, we use the most efficiency-improving and climate-friendly traffic concepts recommended by the European aviation organisations.

Naviair analyses and works with the development of climate-friendly traffic concepts both in Free Route Airspace (FRA), Continuous Climb Departures (CCDs), Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP).

In November 2011, jointly with LFV, we introduced FRA in Danish-Swedish airspace. This means that airlines can now choose the shortest direct route through our airspace already at the planning stage. This will allow airlines to reduce the volume of aircraft fuel used and to reduce the aircraft’s starting weight. Against the background of simulations performed by Eurocontrol for Naviair and LFV, it has been calculated that FRA will cut CO2 emissions in the airspace by approximately 40,000 tonnes per year, overall. Using CCDs for departures from Copenhagen Airport saves the environment from emissions of approximately 32,000 tonnes of CO2 annually and the airlines fuel consumption of approximately 10,000 tonnes annually. Naviair’s climate-friendly CCD action was documented by Eurocontrol in 2009. Our concept means that more than 95 per cent of departing flights are given permission to deviate from the Standard Instrument Departure (SID) procedure. Instead, they use Naviair’s special CCD procedure, where aircraft are given permission to climb directly to their preferred cruising level and to head directly for their destination as quickly as possible during the departure procedure.

The CDA concept allows pilots to plan the most fuel-efficient and climate-friendly approach to airports from the aircraft’s cruising level to landing. This allows the pilot to optimise the use of engine power during the last part of the flight. At airports with a high traffic density, it may be difficult to implement CDA and at the same time maintaining high capacity with optimum density between departing and landing aircraft. But during periods of low traffic intensity, it is possible to use the concept – without CDA hampering the possibility of maintaining the high proportion of CCDs. In 2009, more lenient level restrictions for approaches to Copenhagen Airport were introduced, enabling airlines to implement approximated CDAs.

We work closely together with our customers and partners on the continued development of new initiatives that can optimise our environmental and climate performance. For example, we are following with interest the testing of RNP procedures at Landvetter Airport near Gothenburg. RNP provides the basis for automated, short precision approaches, which are expected to yield considerable fuel savings. If the test is successful, we will consider developing RNP procedures for a coming integrated terminal area in the Øresund region, comprising Copenhagen Airport.

We strive to align our climate efforts to customer wishes and needs at the same time as participating in the environmental and climate work in SES, SESAR, NUAC, NEAP, COOPANS and NORACON.

Based on Eurocontrol’s and IATA’s joint Flight Efficiency Plan, we will continue to develop and ensure flexible utilisation of airspace by means of:

• Short routes, direct routes to destinations and fuel-efficient altitudes.
• The option of fuel-efficient approaches to Danish airports.
• Minimal ground delays with engines idling through efficient ATM at airports.
• CCDs wherever possible – with direct routes and climbs to cruising level.