European airspace control. The promise: delays. The need: action

Globally, the aviation industry narrative in 2017 was demonstrative of both record profits and excellent passenger growth. The European aviation market was no exception, surpassing even the most bullish forecasts.

The rise of LCCs and market consolidation, resulting in stronger and - in some cases - fiercer airline groups, resulted in the continent shaking the traditional notion of confined growth in mature aviation markets. The remarkable passenger growth rate of 8.2% year-on-year was near double the 4.8% posted in the USA, and just short of the Asia Pacific's 9.4%.

Europe's air traffic management (ATM) network added 4.4% more movements in 2017, bringing the total to 10.6 million for the year. Overseen by the Eurocontrol Network Manager (NM), the European ATM network covers 43 countries - but despite this growth, the NM area continues to miss performance targets and has not met airspace objectives to meet ballooning passenger demand.