What's a 'single sky'?

LONDON, England -- The European Union's controversial "single sky" plan is designed to boost air traffic by bringing the continent's national air traffic control systems under one umbrella.

The radical scheme involves putting all air traffic controllers under a unified supervision so that airlines can fly routes that are not defined by European borders.

"It makes no sense to have fragmented national systems," German Transport Minister Kurt Bodewig has said. "Europe needs a single sky."

Officials say the program would ease congestion and reduce passenger delays by boosting capacity by 50 percent.

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Bringing the patchwork of national air traffic controllers under a single regulatory framework by the end of 2004 also could save up to 5 billion euros ($4.7 billion) a year currently spent on extra fuel, airline staffing and lost passenger time, according to estimates by European Commission, the EU's executive branch.

Under the plan, national governments will continue to decide who provides air traffic services on their territory and will take the lead in proposing the local reorganisation of air traffic control, officials say.

A new EU regulatory body, the Single Sky Committee, will draw up common standards for organisations that provide air navigation services, including weather reports and communications.

However, air traffic controllers unions say the scheme would risk air safety, and they fear it could lead to privatisation and job losses.

"We want a safe European sky, not just an economic one," said Joel Cariou, secretary of ATCEUC, an umbrella group of air traffic controllers that includes unions from Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland, the Republic of Ireland, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary.

"When air traffic doubles, the risk of collision is squared," Cariou said.

EU officials say the issue of privatisation is "a misunderstanding" and that officials are not calling for privatisation.

But a number of EU countries, including France, Portugal and Greece, also have reservations about the idea of giving up national sovereignty over their airspace, and further discussions are planned on the issue.

The issue of creating a "single sky" for Europe is separate from the on-again, off-again "open skies" discussions between Britain and the United States over free-for-all flying across the Atlantic.

An "open skies" deal would open access at London's Heathrow Airport to more U.S. airlines and give British Airways the green light for a revenue-sharing agreement with American Airlines.

U.S. airlines have agreed to similar partnerships with German and French national carriers. But American and BA called off their deal earlier this year in the face of stiff conditions by the U.S. government.