REDUCED VERTICAL MINIMUM IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE ICAO EUROPEAN REGION: FOLLOWING POLITICAL GO AHEAD, EURASIA STATES ALSO AGREED TO AN IMPLEMENTATION MASTER PLAN OF THE RELEVANT ICAO STANDARD.

Paris ( France), 17 December 2009 – Today, 23 delegates representing 6 States of the Eastern Part of the ICAO European Region officially approved the Master Plan of a common Programme set to implement the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum ICAO standard in the relevant area by 17 November 2011.

From right to left: Mr. Igor M. Alexandrov, Deputy Director of the Department of the State Policy in Civil Aviation of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the EURASIA Task Force and Mr. Karsten Theil, ICAO EUR/NAT Office Regional Director

(see full-size photo)

The Master Plan – approved by members of the EURASIA Task Force who gathered this week for its second meeting at the Paris-based ICAO European and North Atlantic Office – describes how the Eastern European RVSM will be organized and managed by the Russian Federation, , , , and .

“We do consider the approval of this detailed Master Plan a very important and productive achievement as it demonstrates the great effort of the Eastern Part of the European Region to move towards ICAO international standards,” said Mr. Igor M. Alexandrov, Deputy Director of the Department of the State Policy in Civil Aviation of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the EURASIA Task Force.

According to ICAO standards, the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) is a term used to describe the reduction of the standard vertical separation required between aircraft flying at levels between Flight Level 290 (namely 29,000 feet) and Flight Level 410 (namely 41,000 feet). RVSM implementation aims at increasing the number of aircraft flying safely within a given airspace volume.

Its safe implementation requires years of simulations, scientific research, technical upgrading and pilot/controller training as well as political commitment both from a domestic and foreign policy point of view.

In this regard, it should be noted that the Eastern European RVSM Programme is a challenge of paramount importance and difficulty, as it aims at implementing at operational, procedural and regulatory levels, what could be described as a double passage: implementation of a 300m minimum between Flight Level 290 and Flight Level 410 at the same time and, moreover, the implementation of the ICAO standard Flight Level System (different from what is presently used in the area).

In short, this Programme will provide an additional ICAO-compliant six flight levels between FL290 and FL410 feet inclusive in the airspace of 6 RVSM States. This will result in additional airspace capacity, reduced inflight delays, fuel economies for the users and last, but not least, an increased environmental sustainability at same traffic levels.

The official deadline for the ICAO–standard RVSM implementation is set for 17 November 2011, a date by which the entire geographical area of competence of the ICAO European and North Atlantic Office made of 56 States will be RVSM compliant. Namely the implemented standard for the entire area will be no longer a “Reduced” Vertical Separation Minimum but simply again a universally applied standard “Vertical Separation Minimum”.

The Master Plan approved by the EURASIA Task Force follows a political “go ahead” pro RVSM- implementation taken by the relevant Member States and officially announced by the Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Mr Valery Okulov, at the first meeting of the ICAO EURASIA Task Force that was held in Moscow from 1 to 3 September this year.

The EURASIA RVSM Implementation Task Force is constituted of delegates representing seven States and the Interstate Aviation Committee. Observers including major Russian Federation air carriers and service provider organizations attended the first meeting.

EURASIA Task Force