EUROPEAN AIRSPACE FRAGMENTATION TYPOLOGY

Abstract

By reviewing bibliography sources addressing airspace design and system performances, it’s evident that airspace fragmentation decreases the efficiency of European Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. Although it’s often mentioned, a minor progress has been made to describe this issue more in-depth. Therefore, this research was carried out with the purpose to determine typology of European airspace fragmentation and to identify topic issues that need to be addressed in further research. The research is focused on literature review and analysis of European airspace design. As result of conducted analysis, five airspace fragmentation types have been defined and described. Accordingly, spatial distribution and temporal consistency of airspace fragmentation types were depicted as well as their similarities and differences. In addition, this research identifies airspace fragmentation type requiring additional study. Lastly, this research paper aims to contribute to better understanding of ATM system arrangement and simplify strategic planning at national and regional level in terms of capacity, cost-efficiency, environment and safety as four pillars of future development of European ATM system.