Turkish Airlines CEO: EU must better manage airspace

The European Parliament should act to manage airspace more efficiently so airlines fuel costs can be reduced, Turkish Airlines General Manager Temel Kotil has said.
Kotil told The Anadolu Agency on Thursday that common airspace management plans within a Single European Sky agreement, which had been on the European Parliament’s agenda for nearly 20 years, needed to be enacted as airlines' fuel costs had increased by 11 percent through fragmentation in air traffic management along national borders.
Speaking after talks with the member of Transportation and Tourism Commission of the European Parliament in Brussels, Kotil said: "Now, it is necessary to solve this problem.
 "The civil aerospace sector provides seven million jobs and contributes €1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) daily to the European economy."
"The future of the aviation industry is brilliant, but we expect some regulation from the European Union," he added.
According to the European Commission, the Single European Sky plan for a joint European airspace -- where more than 26,000 aircraft pass each other in the skies over Europe each day -- will allow commercial airlines to fly their routes more directly and safely.
- Growing demands
These common airspace blocks are arranged around traffic flows rather than state boundaries, which leads to performance improvements, Kotil said.
Many European airports were insufficient to meet growing demands and new airports are needed in the continent, he added.
Kotil said: "The airlines have difficulties in competing because night flights are not allowed. European countries should follow the example of Turkey, where airports are open 24 hours a day for take-offs and landings."
"European countries should make big airports, similar to Istanbul's third airport," he said.
The third airport, which is currently under construction, will open in 2017 and service 150 million passengers a year.
- 'Crucial step'
The European Commission has said Functional Airspace Blocks, areas of aviation space aimed at regulating traffic and routes, are a crucial step towards a more efficient, less costly and less polluting aviation system in Europe.
Kotil said: "Actual progress on these Functional Airspace Blocks' airspace reorganizations, and on the effectiveness of their air navigation services, has been slow.
"This means more delays, the consumption of more fuel and therefore more GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, and more money charged to airlines," he said.
The system of Functional Airspace Blocks is a cornerstone towards creating a single airspace aimed at reducing fragmentation along national borders, leading to higher safety standards and reduced costs and fuel consumption.
Kotil added that the second annual association of European Airlines Aviation Leadership Summit will be held in Istanbul.
European airlines CEOs and their political advisers, as well as European policy makers, regulators, key industry players and other aviation leaders will come together at the summit to discuss the future of aviation in Europe.