Commission Regulation (EU) No 176/2011 of 24 February 2011 on the information to be provided before the establishment and modification of a functional airspace block – text published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Objective and Scope

This Regulation specifies the information to be provided by EU Member States before the establishment and modification of a functional airspace block (FAB) to:

• the European Commission
• EASA
• other EU Member States
• neighbouring third countries to a FAB
• adjacent air navigation service providers to those in a FAB
• relevant airspace users or user groups
• staff representative bodies,

as well as the procedures for the provision of the information to and of the observations from the above parties.

Summary

The Regulation (popular as “FAB implementing rule”) applies to the Member States having mutually agreed to establish a FAB under Regulation (EC) No 550/2004.

States shall provide the FAB-related information specified in the annex of the Regulation:

• before ‘formal’ notification of the FAB to the Commission, but not later than 24 June 2012;
• at least six months before a modification of a FAB is implemented (A FAB is considered as modified in case of changes to its defined dimensions.)

The information to be provided shall include:

• dimensions of the functional airspace block and point of contact;
• designated air traffic (and meteorological) service providers and their respective areas of responsibility;
• information on the arrangements concluded regarding the establishment or modification of the FAB;
• information, including supporting documentation, pertaining to:
  • FAB safety case;
  • optimum use of airspace, taking into account air traffic flows;
  • consistency with the European route network;
  • overall added value based on cost-benefit analyses;
  • assurance for smooth and flexible transfer of responsibility for air traffic control between air traffic service units;
  • assurance of compatibility between the different airspace configurations, including optimisation of current flight information regions;
  • regional agreements concluded within the ICAO;
  • other regional agreements in existence;
  • consistency with European Union-wide performance targets.

Within one week of the information provision the Commission shall make it available for observations to EASA, other Member States and interested parties. The observations shall be submitted within two months of the receipt of the information.

The Member States concerned shall duly consider the observations received before establishing or modifying their functional airspace block.

Regulation (EU) No 176/2011 on the information to be provided before the establishment and modification of a FAB (OJ, 25.2.2011)

Entry into Force

This Regulation enters into force in March 2010 and is directly applicable in all EU Member States.

Related articles

• Regulation 550/2004 - Provision of Air Navigation Services in SES
• Regulation 1070/2009 - Improving the Performance of European Aviation System

Further Reading

European Commission

• EUR-Lex Portal: Regulation 176/2011 (available in different languages and file formats)
• Air Transport Portal of the European Commission - Single European Sky

EUROCONTROL

• EUROCONTROL PRC - Evaluation of Functional Airspace Block (FAB) initiatives and their contribution to performance Improvement