The single European sky and disruptive aviation technology : present and future legal implications

Abstract

The Single European Sky (SES) is a plan of action to ameliorate the safety and efficiency of Europe’s airspace. The legislative packages associated with the SES have developed over time and aim at tackling the most pressing issues which hamper the harmonisation of Europe’s airspace. The SES has the goal of improving European general aviation amongst the Member States of the European Union (EU). This will lead to other benefits such as the reduction of carbon emissions and economic growth amongst others. Given that the implementation of the SES over the years seems to have neither stuck to its timeframes, nor achieved all its goals, this dissertation will delve into what has been done so far and what this plan of action’s future holds. This dissertation will therefore analyse the legal aspect of the SES, which is mostly incorporated in EU Regulations. This analysis will lead to a discussion on the Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs), U-space, and Urban Air Mobility (UAM), with emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) and its effects. The above shall all be dealt with in the context of disruptive aviation technology, in particular unmanned aircraft. This is because these schemes, especially U-space and UAM allow for unmanned aircraft to be integrated into the European airspace, through both regulatory and technological advancements as well as roadmaps envisaged for the years ahead. It will then conclude by providing reasons as to whether the SES has been a success or not and why this is the case. Critiques by different groups will be considered, as well as deciphering if the objectives set out in the unmanned field are indeed attainable or not in the timeframes provided. All in all, this study aims at providing the reader with a better understanding of what the SES is and what it wishes to attain at present and in the future.