ENAIRE increases the efficiency of air routes to shift towards more sustainable aviation

Enrique Maurer, ENAIRE's CEO, took part today in the roundtable "The challenge to aviation to make sustainability sustainable" at the Global Mobility Call congress, which is being held in Madrid until Thursday the 26th, where the Ministry of Air Transport and its agencies are making their presence felt.

Maurer explained how ENAIRE is dealing with sustainability in air navigation. ENAIRE's Green Sky initiative, which is part of the 2025 Flight Plan, focuses on three main areas of activity:

Reducing atmospheric emissions (in parallel with reduced fuel consumption) - Fly Clean.

Attenuating noise levels and reducing its effect on biodiversity in and around Spanish airports - Fly Quiet

Improving environmental management in our own centres and facilities throughout the country - Eco-ENAIRE.

Maurer presented ENAIRE's Green Sky programme, with actions to reduce aviation emissions, reduce noise levels and improve environmental management in ENAIRE facilities

Also taking part in the debate, moderated by Monserrat Mestres, Director of AESA, were Fernando Candela, Executive Chairman of Iberia, Julio Casas, Commercial Director of Aviación BP for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Andrés Arranz, Chairman of SENASA, Javier Gándara (ALA) and Amparo Brea (AENA).

"To reduce atmospheric emissions, the measures endorsed by ENAIRE directly seek to improve flight efficiency in trajectories and flight profiles, with the consequent reduction in fuel consumption and emissions.  To this end, ENAIRE is working on optimising the network of air routes by modernising manoeuvres (PBN navigation) and reducing the distances flown, together with designing manoeuvres with continuous descent/climb clearances", explained Enrique Maurer.

The flexible use of airspace is also key, and relies on enhanced civil-military coordination with the Air and Space Force, the environmental benefits of which will include the possibility of offering more efficient routes in terms of flight profiles and distances.

"As a result of these actions, the efficiency of the route network has improved compared to previous years. Traffic during the first eight months of 2023 rose by 11.8% compared to the same period in 2022 and, with the Fly Clean initiative, in that period, route efficiency went up by 2% despite the increase in flights. This means that in the first few months of the year, we avoided flying 384,000 km (almost 10 times around the Earth), which reduced atmospheric emissions by 7,200 tonnes and saved 2,300 tonnes of fuel", noted ENAIRE's CEO.

In the second area of activity, to reduce noise pollution in cities and towns near airports, ENAIRE systematically studies the environmental impact of all the flight manoeuvres it designs in an effort to make improvements to approach and departure flight paths that keep aircraft from flying over cities and towns, and to minimise the noise levels they generate.

"ENAIRE is firmly committed to reducing the noise impact on the population, and it actively participates in working groups with the National Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), the Civil Aviation General Directorate (DGAC) and AENA.

In this regard, we collaborate closely with the DGAC and AENA to reduce noise pollution in cities and towns near airports. ENAIRE has designed an ambitious action plan to reduce noise through 2030, which defines measures intended to achieve this", Enrique Maurer summarised.

In the third area of environmental activity, the Eco ENAIRE initiative drives the improvement of ENAIRE's environmental management at ENAIRE's work centres by providing renewable energy to power all of its air control centres and major air navigation facilities. As a whole, these photovoltaic installations will generate nearly 4 GWh annually, saving 18% of the electricity consumed in these facilities, and 13.7% of ENAIRE's total consumption. Lighting consumption will also be optimised by using LED technology, and a plan is being implemented to decarbonise the vehicle fleet.

Similarly, ENAIRE will continue to purchase 100% of its electricity from certified renewable sources, a measure that, since 2015, has saved over 110,000 tonnes of CO².

What is the Global Mobility Call?

It is the only World Congress + Expo on the Sustainable Mobility of People and Goods that connects all industries and stakeholders through its cross-cutting and holistic approach to mobility.

Global Mobility Call was designed to boost collaboration between companies and generate public-private partnerships that contribute to the development of the new Sustainable Mobility in cities and rural areas.

It connects 13 business sectors and different levels of the administration, creating new business opportunities and a rewarding networking experience through GMC Expo and its influential and inspiring international congress.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.

As a company of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, it provides en route control services for all flights and overflights from five control centres in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Canary Islands and Balearics, as well as approach services to every airport in the country.

In addition, 46 airports receive ENAIRE's communication, navigation and surveillance services, and 21 airports, including the country's busiest, rely on its aerodrome control services.

ENAIRE is Europe's fourth largest air traffic manager and participates in the A6 Alliance, a coalition of air navigation providers responsible for over 80% of European air traffic, and which is seeking to modernise the air traffic management system. It is also a member of other international alliances promoting the Single European sky, such as SESAR Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC and CANSO.

ENAIRE, as the entity appointed by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda to implement the U-space system in Spain, will be the provider of the Common Information Services (CIS), which are essential for administering U-space services to drones and Urban Air Mobility, in interaction with local air traffic control services, so that all types of aircraft can fly safely in the same airspace.

ENAIRE has received the highest score in Europe on the aviation safety key performance indicator. It has also been awarded the EFQM 500 Seal for its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.