The International Air Travellers Association (IATA), Eurocontrol and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) have announced a three-way deal to "expedite efficiency improvements in European air traffic management".

Annual savings of 470,000 tonnes of fuel, $550 million, and 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions are expected to be saved through this agreement.

The plan calls for an airspace redesign to accommodate a 0.1 per cent reduction in routes equivalent to 4 million nautical miles per year and $28 million, another 0.7 per cent to accrue from enhanced civil/military cooperation and improved flight planning, (worth 30 million nautical miles and $210 million), and the greater use of continuous descent approaches (worth $140 million if implemented at 20 per cent of European airports).

Additionally, the deal envisages taxi time reduction (1 minute at Europe's top 50 airports would save $170 million).

IATA's director general and chief executive officer Giovanni Bisignani said the effort  would deliver ''tangible results'' in a short timeframe, and would set a "leadership example for others to follow."