The Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) was asked to investigate how to optimise airspace use in the Netherlands by
identifying inefficiencies in sharing military airspace with civil users. The Dutch airspace is limited and busy, and used by
both civil and military users. To manage this efficiently, Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) allows sharing based on needs
rather than strict allocation.
Despite introducing FUA above FL245 in 2020, inefficiencies remain below FL245. Flights are planned around training
areas but often fly through them due to tactical changes, resulting in shorter flights but requiring more fuel than
necessary. Furthermore, instances have been observed where conditional routes (CDRs) were unavailable for flight
planning, while the corresponding TRAs were open.
The goal of this study is to identify and find solutions for inefficiencies in the Flexible
Use of Airspace concept applied in the Netherlands, especially below FL245. The
main challenge of the tasks at hand liesin the balancing of military and civil interests.
By addressing these inefficiencies and improving FUA processes, airspace use in the
Netherlands can be optimised, enhancing efficiency, safety, and cooperation
between military and civil aviation stakeholders. Next steps have been identified to
accomplish this improvement.