The EU Green Deal stands as a cornerstone initiative driving Europe toward climate neutrality by 2050. As part of this ambitious transformation, the aviation sector faces both a challenge and an opportunity to redefine its role in a greener future. Air traffic management must evolve, enter sustainable air traffic control. This concept aims to streamline flight operations, reduce emissions, and manage growing traffic while maintaining safety. At the forefront of this shift is ATM-EXCITE, a pioneering initiative reshaping how Europe handles its complex airspace sustainably. By integrating innovation with ecological responsibility, ATM-EXCITE aligns perfectly with the EU aviation strategy under the Green Deal’s umbrella.
The EU Green Deal: A new horizon for EU aviation
The EU Green Deal outlines a bold vision to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Within this transformative agenda, the transport sector, especially EU aviation, plays a central role. Aviation currently accounts for a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions, making it a key focus for environmental policy and innovation.
A cornerstone of the Green Deal is the drastic reduction of emissions in airspace operations. This includes optimizing flight paths, implementing greener airport procedures, and embracing digital tools for more efficient air traffic management. The ultimate aim is to reduce aviation emissions by at least 55% by 2030, in line with the EU’s interim climate targets.
Beyond cutting emissions, the Deal pushes for a full clean energy transition, promoting sustainable aviation fuels, electrification where feasible, and the integration of renewable energy sources across aviation infrastructure.
However, achieving these ambitious goals demands more than technological upgrades. It requires a systemic shift in how air traffic is managed. Traditional models must evolve to meet the demands of a climate-conscious Europe. Aligning air traffic management with the Green Deal’s objectives is crucial, not just to meet regulatory standards, but to ensure the long-term viability and competitiveness of European aviation.
By placing environmental sustainability at the core of aviation policy, the EU Green Deal redefines the future of flight, turning skyways into pathways for ecological responsibility.
Challenges in today’s air traffic management landscape
As the aviation ecosystem evolves, the landscape of air traffic management (ATM) is becoming increasingly complex. One major driver is the rapid integration of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into European airspace. These new airspace users introduce unique coordination challenges, demanding enhanced surveillance, communication, and traffic separation capabilities to ensure safety and efficiency.
Another pressing issue is the need for seamless civil-military coordination. Europe’s airspace is shared between civilian and defense operations, which often operate under different protocols and priorities. Bridging these gaps is essential for optimizing capacity and avoiding bottlenecks in increasingly congested skies.
Compounding these challenges is the tension between legacy ATM systems and the demands of a digital, data-driven aviation era. Many of the systems currently in use were not designed for today’s volume, speed, or technological requirements. This mismatch slows down innovation and inhibits the implementation of truly sustainable air traffic control solutions.
As EU aviation advances under the goals of the EU Green Deal, the sector must modernize its approach. Overcoming these structural and operational barriers is critical to ensure a greener, more agile, and resilient air traffic system for the future.
ATM-EXCITE: Shaping the future of sustainable air traffic control
At the forefront of Europe’s aviation transformation stands ATM-EXCITE, a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to redefining sustainable air traffic control. Backed by SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking and funded through Horizon Europe, ATM-EXCITE is driving forward next-generation solutions to meet the demands of a greener and more dynamic airspace.
ATM-EXCITE’s core mission is to reduce complexity while increasing adaptability within air traffic management. It tackles key obstacles by enabling real-time data exchange, smarter automation, and resilient cross-border coordination. This is especially vital for the seamless integration of both manned and unmanned aerial systems, and for improving civil-military coordination, a long-standing challenge in European skies.
One of the initiative’s central contributions to the EU Green Deal is its focus on emissions reduction in airspace operations. By optimizing flight trajectories, improving air-ground communication, and leveraging predictive analytics, ATM-EXCITE helps airlines minimize fuel consumption and environmental impact without compromising on safety or punctuality.
The technologies developed within ATM-EXCITE foster a future-proof ATM infrastructure that is secure, scalable, and deeply aligned with Europe’s sustainability ambitions. Through its innovations, the project not only enhances operational efficiency and airspace capacity, but also positions EU aviation as a global leader in responsible, climate-conscious flight management. ATM-EXCITE isn’t just adapting to the future, it’s actively building it, shaping a safer and more sustainable sky for generations to come.
Key strategies to reduce emissions in airspace operations
Achieving meaningful emissions reduction in airspace operations requires a multifaceted approach that blends innovation, digital transformation, and operational efficiency. For EU aviation, the goal is clear: a future where sustainability and performance go hand in hand. The strategies to reach this vision are already in motion.
A major pillar is route optimization through trajectory-based operations (TBO). This strategy allows aircraft to follow optimal flight paths tailored to real-time airspace conditions, weather, and traffic. By minimizing detours and delays, TBO significantly cuts fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions, making it a cornerstone of sustainable air traffic control.
Another transformative force is the integration of AI and automation in control towers. These technologies enhance decision-making, reduce human error, and enable more responsive and efficient air traffic flows. Predictive analytics powered by AI help anticipate congestion and reroute flights dynamically, further supporting emission reduction goals.
On the ground, sustainability doesn’t pause. The deployment of electric ground vehicles, the transition to green energy at airports, and smarter infrastructure design contribute to lowering the overall carbon footprint of aviation operations. These efforts complement in-air strategies and ensure that the entire ecosystem is aligned with the environmental targets set by the EU Green Deal.
Together, these advancements are redefining the operational fabric of European skies. By embracing smart technology and sustainability-focused planning, EU aviation is not only reducing its environmental impact but also paving the way for a more resilient, efficient, and future-ready airspace.
Digitizing control towers for environmental gains
As part of the shift toward sustainable air traffic control, the digitization of control towers is revolutionizing how airports and airspace are managed. Remote and digital towers leverage high-definition cameras, sensors, and real-time data feeds to replace or supplement traditional physical towers, unlocking greater flexibility and operational efficiency.
These advanced systems allow air traffic controllers to manage multiple airports from centralized locations, often with enhanced situational awareness thanks to AI-driven analytics and integrated data platforms. By enabling real-time decision-making, digital towers contribute directly to emissions reduction in airspace operations.
One of the key environmental benefits lies in improved flow management. With more precise and predictive coordination of arrivals and departures, aircraft spend less time taxiing or holding in the air, which translates to reduced fuel burn and lower CO₂ emissions. Additionally, the optimized sequencing of aircraft can alleviate congestion and streamline airport throughput.
Digitization also facilitates better integration of sustainable technologies, such as electric towing systems and dynamic runway lighting, further aligning control tower operations with the environmental goals of EU aviation. As digital towers become more widespread, they will play a critical role in Europe’s climate-neutral aviation future.
European regulations driving the sustainable transition
Regulatory frameworks are a cornerstone of Europe’s push toward sustainable air traffic control, ensuring that environmental ambitions translate into actionable change. Two major entities, SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) and EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency), are steering this transformation with forward-looking mandates.
Under the umbrella of the EU Green Deal, SESAR drives innovation by developing technologies and operational concepts that improve airspace efficiency and cut emissions. Its focus on eco-routes, digital coordination, and smarter ATM systems helps align everyday aviation activities with broader climate goals.
Meanwhile, EASA enforces critical regulations and performance targets that affect both airlines and air traffic control (ATC) operators. These include mandatory fuel efficiency benchmarks, real-time emissions monitoring, and compliance with optimized routing strategies. By embedding sustainability into certification, oversight, and operational standards, EASA ensures that environmental performance is not optional—but essential.
The combined efforts of these institutions are reshaping EU aviation, pushing stakeholders toward greener, smarter operations. These regulations are not just bureaucratic measures, they are vital levers accelerating the shift to a climate-neutral European airspace by 2050. Through strict governance and strategic innovation, Europe is creating a model for the future of global aviation.
The role of stakeholders in enabling green ATM
Achieving the EU Green Deal goals in aviation requires close collaboration between civil and military authorities, air navigation service providers (ANSPs), and regulators. Coordinated action and harmonized implementation across Europe are essential to building a truly integrated and sustainable air traffic control ecosystem.
ATM-EXCITE: Our vision for the next decade
Looking ahead, ATM-EXCITE envisions a European sky that is greener, smarter, and more connected than ever before. Anchored in the ambitions of the EU Green Deal, the initiative is committed to accelerating sustainable air traffic control through continuous innovation, digital transformation, and cross-border collaboration.
Over the next decade, ATM-EXCITE will drive forward technologies and frameworks that deliver measurable emissions reduction in airspace operations, while enhancing safety and scalability. By uniting key stakeholders under a shared vision, we aim to future-proof European aviation and make sustainability the standard, not the exception. Together, we are not just managing air traffic, we’re shaping the sustainable future of European aviation.
