Flexible air routes cut flying time
Neelam Mathews Sept 14, 2011 The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), has joined with its ‘iFlex’ partners to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Johannesburg-Atlanta iFlex trial. The iFlex program concentrates on long-haul routes through low-density airspace in regions where maximum benefit can be achieved through a more flexible airspace structure. iFlex provides airlines a greater and more flexible choice of routes on long-haul operations. It addresses challenges resulting from conventional air traffic management restrictions, which limit the flexibility of routing within fixed corridors. Data provided by Delta Air Lines shows the implementation of iFlex between Johannesburg and Atlanta from 30th June to 25 th August resulted in an average time saving of 8 minutes per flight. This equates to 900 kg of fuel and 2.9 tonnes of CO2. The development and implementation of the iFlex trial was successful with no changes made to existing air traffic ma...