On 14-15 April 2015 in Warsaw a meeting of the Council of the Baltic Functional Airspace Block (Baltic FAB) was held. The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Development Mr Slawomir Żałobka. Lithuanian side was represented by Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania Mr Arijandas Šliupas. The meeting was also attended by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority Mr Piotr Ołowski and President of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency Ms Magdalena Jaworska and representatives of the Ministry of Defence.
Participants of the meeting made six key decisions. The main arrangements taken at the meeting concerned the development of air traffic management systems in Poland and Lithuania into iTEC technology and start negotiations on joining the so-called. iTEC and iCAS system group. Accession to this group seeks to ensure full synchronization of the technological development of Polish and Lithuanian air navigation services of the SESAR program. The purpose of these actions, enrolling in the EU concept of a Singles European Sky (SES), is to implement a uniform system of air traffic management in the Baltic FAB in the coming years.
The Ministers in one of the signed decision pointed out that a common development strategy of the Baltic FAB-u will include long-term goals and guidelines for the future development of the Programme, taking into account the Baltic FAB plans to expand in the future and taking a closer cooperation with other countries. Progress in the implementation of work on the joint initiative of the Polish and Lithuanian side referred to by the participants of the meeting, was possible due to many years of intensive cooperation between high-level experts from both countries.
The meeting was another step towards increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of navigation service providers and airspace of the Baltic FAB and has laid the foundations to strengthen its position of the Baltic FAB in the system of functional airspace blocks in Europe.
The functional airspace blocks are the structural and organizational component of the SES, contributing to the gradual integration of the airspace management system. Currently there are 9 FAB initiatives being developed: UK-Ireland FAB, Danish-Swedish FAB, Baltic FAB, BLUE MED FAB, Danube FAB, FAB CE, FABEC, North European FAB oraz South West FAB.
