Cross-border Free Route Airspace concept and its impact on flight efficiency improvement

Abstract

The implementation of Free Route Airspace (FRA) in European Airspace has significantly reduced flight distances. However, there are still elements in the conventional FRA that need to be optimized in order to allow a further improvement in flight efficiency and these are the predefined entry and exit points that are still obligatory to be inserted in a flight plan by the crews and to be flew over during the flight. The introduction of cross-border FRA is another milestone towards the improvement of flight and Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems efficiency. The purpose of the article is to examine the possibility of implementation and expansion of already existing cross-border FRAs and how much distance would be saved if it was possible to fly in a cross-border FRA, instead of a conventional FRA. Thus, two possible scenarios on the extract of a chosen flight route, based on a real-world flight, operated by inter alia LOT Polish Airlines, are examined. Route distance extension was calculated using the Horizontal Flight Efficiency method. Subsequent calculations include potential flight time savings along with fuel waste, CO2 emission and operating costs. The validation of the results obtained through calculation was conducted on X-Plane 11 as a simulation of two examined scenarios, using a Boeing 737-800. The results of the calculations and simulations indicate that the implementation and expansion of cross-border FRA may have a positive impact on flight efficiency improvement due to the reduction of distance and consequently the flight time, fuel waste, CO2 emission and operating costs. It can also mitigate the problem of the European Airspace capacity gradually reaching its maximum level. Thus, there is still a lot of place for further optimization of air traffic flow in European Airspace.