Finland’s airspace reform in November

Reform is under way to enhance and optimise air traffic. ‘Amongst other things, the reform helps to reduce planes’ fuel consumption, which, in turn, decreases the burden on the environment. Some flight times will be shortened too, thanks to combining of routes,’ says Raine Luojus, Director of Air Navigation Services for Finavia.

The reform also brings improvements to flight design and execution, allowing airlines better optimisation of the fuel quantities added for aeroplanes, for example. They can be sure that their planes use the most appropriate routes and altitudes at any given moment.

Free routing will be introduced on an even larger scale in the Nordic and Baltic countries next year, allowing the airlines to optimise their flight profiles within a more extensive region.

This project is part of a larger northern-European collaboration process mandated by regulations such as those of the EU’s Single European Sky initiative. In addition to enhancing commercial air traffic, the reform addresses national defence factors, the armed forces’ aviation requirements, and civil-aviation-related elements.

Finland’s airspace was last reformed some 15 years ago, so this move comes at a very opportune time – air‑traffic flows have changed significantly in the years since.

Normal air passengers won’t notice the reform much, but harmonising regulations among European countries will aid in the management of special situations like the crisis caused by volcanic ash in 2010.

Source and image: Finavia