The African Airlines Association AFRAA has officially deployed its Free Route Airspace FRA initiative in West and Central Africa, following two years of trials , and is preparing to extend the solution to East and Southern Africa next year.
FRA is the African aviation industrys migration from traditional, land-based navigation which relies on fixed waypoints and rigid airways to a digital system that allows airlines to design more direct, fuel-efficient User Preferred Routes UPRs. These routes enable pilots to adjust to real-time conditions such as weather, reducing fuel consumption, shortening flight times and lowering emissions.
Planes have historically followed airways and consequently, it lengthens flight paths and can cause congestion at times. With FRA, rather than saying this is a path that aircraft must follow, it says these are places aircraft cant go. This helps reduce congestion, optimise fuel consumption and, from a passenger perspective, could help reduce turbulence, explained aviation expert, Sean Mendis .
