Flexible Use of Airspace Concept Implementation

This initiative was bolstered by significant preparatory work carried out by the Main ATM Center, Magadan regional centre and Kaliningrad ACC in cooperation with more than 50 airlines participating in FRA trial implementation in the airspace over the high seas within the Russian Federation area of responsibility.

Based on the airlines proposals received during CPWG/29 virtual meeting, on 12 August 2021 new coordination points (RENSO and NAZOT) were implemented at the interface of Magadan Oceanic sector, Murmansk and Krasnoyarsk ACCs areas of responsibility to bring in the air traffic operating from North American airports to the Indian subcontinent. Meanwhile, to address airlines requests and the Main ATM Center’s query, and in view of RENSO and NAZOT implementation, Anchorage ARTCC lifted the restriction established more than 10 years ago on the use of paired points located north of 73˚ N that limited flexibility of route selection when flying through Anchorage FIR and Magadan FIR.

 According to feedback from the airlines that operate flights from North American airports to the Indian subcontinent, FRA increases the attractiveness of Russian airspace in terms of selecting user preferred routes. In addition to the savings already achieved, the route length has been reduced by an average of 160 km, flight time by 9 minutes, fuel consumption by 811 kg, and CO2 emissions by 2,514 kg.