EC transport chief urges states to be ‘bold’ over ATM reform

European transport commissioner Adina Valean is urging EU states to take a bolder approach to introducing long-strived-for modernisation of air traffic management in Europe. The Commission last September launched a fresh attempt to reinvigorate air traffic reform in Europe, proposing an upgrade to the Single European Sky (SES) regulatory framework to accelerate implementation. This has ambitions to cut the region’s air transport emissions by 10%. Progress in implementing the SES initiative, which dates back more than 20 years, has long been mired in political deadlock. Previous modernisation proposals from the Commission, SES 2+, were put forward in 2013 but not concluded. Addressing the Airlines for Europe Aviation Summit on 10 June, Valean stressed how key reforming Europe’s air traffic management system could be in delivering on the bloc’s wider environmental ambitions. “I am hearing a lot about the members’ talking about sustainability and reducing the footprints of economic activities, and their commitments to it. But it is very frustrating when I see they cannot commit on something which is as simple as a modernising the air traffic management – and I am talking about modernising in an age in which we should talk about innovation,” she said.<br/>