Bulgaria, Romania Sign Joint Skies Memorandum

By December 2012, Bulgaria and Romania will have a joint airspace bloc through a project financed by the European Commission. Photo by BGNES.

The heads of the Bulgarian and Romanian air traffic services signed in Bucharest Tuesday a memorandum on understanding on cooperation in matters relating to air traffic

The document kicks off the DANUBE FAB project, which will coordinate the way the two neighbor regulate their air space, in effect creating one common air space. The so-called DANUBE Functional Airspace Block will comprise the national airspace of Bulgaria, the national airspace of Romania and the airspace included in the scope of the international legal obligations of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania.

The goal of the project is the improvement of safety, quality and capacity of air transportation services in the region.

The director of the Bulgarian State Air Traffic Services Authority, Diyan Dinev, and his Romanian counterpart, Bogdan Donciu, President of ROMATSA, had prior talks July 14-15 to align their future joint actions for the management of the project in order to adhere to the December 4, 2012 EU deadline of establishing of a Functional Airspace Block in the airspace of Romania and Bulgaria.

The project entered a crucial stage after February 26, 2010, when during the official visit to Bulgaria of the Romanian government delegation, led by Prime Minister, Emil Boc, the Bulgarian Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Aleksander Tsvetkov and the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Romania, Radu Mircea Berceanu, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Air Navigation Services, and for the establishment of the Functional Airspace Block.

The DANUBE FAB Project has been approved for financial aid (Phase 1/Stage 2, Phase 2 and 3) with funds granted by the European Commission (EC) under the trans-European transport networks (TEN-T) program. The decision of the EC, published in September 2009, grants EUR 2,515,784 in total, 50% to Bulgaria and 50% to Romania respectively.

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