Overview
On the 21st of October 2004 in Bucharest, at the second meeting of the Steering Committee of ACE (ATM Co-Operation in South - Eastern Europe) the air navigation service providers (ANSPs) of the two States, presented the “Initiative for creating the prerequisites for the establishment of a functional airspace block” for consideration by the signatory ACE Parties. The Initiative was proposed by the two ANSPs with the purpose of commencing the necessary activities to identify and fulfil the prerequisites for the establishment of a functional airspace block by Republic of Bulgaria and Romania.
The objective of the DANUBE FAB, in the airspace under the responsibility of Romania and the Republic of Bulgaria, is to improve capacity, cost-efficiency and environmental protection by harmonising and optimising provision of ANS and civil-military cooperation in a process of sustainable development, while maintaining or increasing the level of safety. This objective has the highest level of political commitment in both States and forms part of the legal basis of FAB establishment.
Key features and benefits of the DANUBE FAB
The aim during the development of the DANUBE FAB was, for lower, upper and terminal airspace, to:
- Consider, propose and assess the extent to which cooperation in the FAB was feasible and beneficial
- Develop the feasible cooperation initiatives to the point of implementation
- Enable the gradual reduction of the number of ACCs (initiated at the early stages of the FAB) from seven in 2003 to two by the end of 2012 (completed). This also responds to contingency needs at FAB level.