Solutions – Alpine Procedures

Maybe one of the most important learnings concerning climate change is despite the fact that it is a global phenomenon we have to think and to develop local/regional solutions. One very illustrative example is FABEC’s Alpine Procedures. 

As Munich airport is close to the Alps, traffic approaching from the south descend rapidly and can pass over an area prone to local thunderstorms. To avoid a weather event, aircraft previously deviated to upper airspace controlled by Karlsruhe which is one of the densest and most complex in the world. This additional unexpected traffic and fast descent to Munich contributed to higher delays, costs and aircraft gas emissions.

Working collaboratively, the control centres of Munich, Karlsruhe, Padua, Zurich and Vienna developed common procedures to mitigate against such events. Based on an automated data exchange air traffic controllers can now handle this “unexpected” traffic smoothly with limited negative efficiency impact.