Airbus Summit in Toulouse Launched with Demonstration Flight

Airbus, Air France and the French Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) and DSNA have set to work on the development of “the most energy efficient flights” following their demonstration flight from Paris to Toulouse Blagnac at the opening of the Airbus Summit event. The aircraft flew on an optimized trajectory as the first of a series of trials planned in 2021 and 2022 as part of the Single European Airspace Air Traffic Management Research Joint Venture (SESAR JU) “ALBATROSS” project.

Launched in February 2021, the ALBATROS project is a large-scale initiative of European aviation stakeholder groups led by Airbus. Combining various R&D technical and operational innovations, it aims to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing the most energy efficient flights in the short term, with a series of door-to-door live demonstration flights across Europe.

The “ALBATROS” project is a holistic project that covers all flight phases, directly involving all relevant stakeholder groups (such as airlines, ANSPs, network administrators, airports and industry) and addresses both operational and technological aspects of aviation and Air Traffic Management (ATM). following approach. Many solutions will be implemented during flight demonstrations, from new precision approach procedures to continuous ascent and descent, from a more dynamic management of required airspace restrictions to sustainable taxiing and the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Thanks to the transmission of four-dimensional orbital data, ATM will be able to optimize and better predict an aircraft's trajectory, allowing it to instantly and tangibly reduce a flight's environmental footprint.

From September 2021, these live trials will include approximately 2 demonstration flights showcasing mature operational solutions with potential fuel and CO1.000 emissions savings. The first results are expected in 2022.

ALBATROSS partners are Airbus, Air France, Austro Control, DLR, DSNA, Eurocontrol, LFV, Lufthansa, Novair, Schiphol, Smart Airport Systems, SWEDAVIA, SWISS, Thales AVS France and WIZZ AIR UK.

The financing of the project is provided by the EU under the Grant Agreement No. 101017678.