The three main associations representing European airlines, airports and air navigation services providers (ANSPs) call for ministers from EU Member States meeting today to support continued co-funding of SESAR – the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research project.

With air traffic growing and European skies forecast to become more crowded, the development and deployment of new air traffic management (ATM) technologies is essential to create more airspace capacity. The full SESAR cycle, which goes from R&D to deployment, plays a crucial role in the digital and technological transformation of ATM systems, infrastructure and services, enhancing the competitiveness of the European aviation industry. 

Deployment of SESAR solutions already delivered €7.5bn worth of cumulative benefits by 2025, and the Draghi report "The future of European competitiveness" estimates that this figure will reach €34.2bn by 2035. EU funding has acted as catalyst for private investments in ATM modernisation and remains essential for harmonised implementation. The dedicated industry support vehicle SDIP, acting as the SESAR Deployment Manager, has been instrumental in reaching these results.

Under the European Commission’s proposals for the EU’s multiannual framework (MFF) for the years 2028-2034, there would be increased financing for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), which, with the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), includes the deployment phase of SESAR projects. The three associations have therefore co-signed an open letter by 45 European transport organisations to call on the General Affairs Council and Finance Ministers to strengthen European funding for transport under CEF. Only with strong and state-of-the-art transport infrastructure will Europe be able to ramp up its resilience and military preparedness, reinforce its industrial competitiveness and safeguard its supply chain sovereignty.