"The result is an efficient environment for the airline industry that also accom¬modates the legitimate needs of the
military and allows the maximum possible freedom of movement to business and general aviation."
The EUR0C0NTR0L organ responsible for maintaining this state of affairs in the face of constantly evolving demands is the Airspace and Navigation Team, a grouping of senior policymakers from the States, the military, air transport organisations such as IATA (International Air Transport Associa¬tion), IACA (International Air Carrier Asso¬ciation) and ERA (European Regions Airline Association), and business and general aviation representative bodies.
"All four communities are represented and can discuss proposed changes and see the pros and cons," says Hendriks. "Working with them, we come to a con¬sensus to progress the design of European airspace. Sometimes one group will find that it is a little more constrained, but it can see the larger benefits and can there¬fore live with the changes."
In recent years, some of the most significant change has centred on the air forces. "Not so long ago the military fleet was still fairly large, requiring correspond¬ingly big volumes of airspace," Hendriks explains. "Now aircraft numbers and movements are shrinking, with smaller fleets of very high-performance types like the Eurof ighter Typhoon replacing larger forces of previous-generation designs.
If anything, the new aircraft need even more airspace. But their operators can be much more flexible about its location and the time of the day when it is available."
Hendriks sees some similar trends in General and Business Aviation. "We're seeing more and more very high-perfor¬mance aircraft entering the General Avia¬tion market," he says. "These two-seat, single-propeller aircraft are much faster than the Cessna 172, and have a climb and ceiling performance that is really stunning. Their operators want to make full use of the airspace, and in the future we're going to have to look at integrating
high-performance General Aviation opera¬tions with those of the airlines."
In Business Aviation, the influence of the new Very Light Jets (VLJs) such as the Cessna Citation Mustang and Embraer Phenom 100 can be expected to make itself felt, Hendriks believes. "Until recently the fleet was characterised by very high-performance aircraft like the Gulfstreams and Falcons at the top end, with small twin-propeller aircraft flown by owner-op¬erators at the other end of the spectrum," he says. "Now we're seeing a shift away from the more expensive aircraft and towards the VLJs. Top-end users want
to save money, while many owner-pilots want to move up to jets."
EUR0C0NTR0L is already preparing to manage the effects of a growing VLJ fleet. "These aircraft fl y at fairly low speeds, but at the same altitudes as the 737s and A320s, placing a new burden on ATC,"
"Top-end users
want to save
money, while
many owner-pilots
want to move up
to jets"
says Hendriks. "We recently completed a two-week real-time simulation: it showed that while there will be an impact, it will be manageable for the controllers."
As for the airlines, while they will be equipped with today's Airbuses and Boeings for a long time to come, a big change has come over their attitude to optimum flight profiles. "Five years ago the demand was for capacity, capacity, capacity — they were happy to detour or be capped at a lower flight level as long as they could fl y their schedules,"
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