Europe’s aviation sector urges continued EU investment in the Digital European Sky
Europe’s airports, airlines and air navigation service providers joined forces to call on EU Member States to maintain strong financial support for SESAR as part of the upcoming EU budget for 2028-2034.
This joint call comes on the foothills of an open letter co-signed by 45 transport organisations beckoning the EU to increase the budget allocated to the Connecting Europe Facility to at least €100 billion. Europe’s transport sector is the backbone of the EU internal market and outreach to the world. A strong sector is a prerequisite for the Union to achieve its strategic objectives and to ensure a resilient, competitive, and sustainable Europe.
In this context, the call for continued funding of SESAR focuses on the particular issues permeating European airspace. With air traffic forecast to grow and Europe’s skies becoming increasingly crowded, deploying advanced air traffic management (ATM) technologies is vital to create capacity, reduce delays, improve safety and support environmental and sustainability goals. The full SESAR cycle – from research and innovation to deployment – is central to this transformation, helping unlock smarter, more efficient and interoperable ATM systems across Europe.
Quoting the Draghi Report on the future of European competitiveness, SESAR solutions have already delivered €7.5 billion in cumulative benefits by 2025, and independent studies estimate this could grow to over €34 billion by 2035 – underlining the economic value of digitalising Europe’s sky. EU funding has acted as a catalyst for private investment in ATM modernisation and is seen as indispensable for harmonised implementation.
Industry leaders stress that scaling back support now would jeopardise progress at a time when operational and capacity pressures are rising across the network. Continued investment is framed as critical for strengthening competitiveness, technological autonomy and resilience, not only for aviation but for Europe’s broader transport ecosystem and economy.
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