Brussels, 28 November 2025 – The HERON project has successfully reached its final major milestone. On Friday, the HERON consortium welcomed over 70 attendees, gathering both in-person at EUROCONTROL Headquarters and online, to unveil the tangible, operational results of three years of intensive research and demonstration.
As the project approaches its official conclusion this December, this event served as both a showcase of achievement and a passing of the torch to the wider aviation community to adopt these validated solutions.
Paving the Way for Sustainable Skies
The event’s agenda took attendees on a gate-to-gate journey through the project’s 23 large-scale demonstrations. Experts presented how Integrated 4D Trajectories and the newly developed ADS-C Common Services are enabling aircraft to share real-time flight data with the ground, allowing for smoother, greener descents and more predictable arrival management.
Significant attention was also given to Green Surface Operations, where partners demonstrated how innovations like single-engine taxiing, automated aircraft parking aids, and hybrid towing vehicles (Taxitow) are drastically cutting emissions on the tarmac. In the afternoon, the focus shifted to Optimised Approaches and Improved Trajectory Planning, proving that smarter runway delivery techniques and dynamic route management can simultaneously boost airport capacity, reduce fuel burn, and lower noise impact for local communities.
Reflecting on the journey from concept to operational reality, Benjamin Tessier, HERON Project Coordinator (Airbus), shared his thoughts on the project’s legacy:
The HERON project successfully fulfilled its broad mandate to achieve tangible CO2 mitigation across the entire flight profile, from departure to arrival taxi. This success is the direct result of the incredible collaboration of 24 European partners. HERON’s legacy is the proven availability of various technologies and operations, now ready for investment and implementation, which paves the way for a more sustainable worldwide aviation. Symbolically, these essential solutions have now been handed over to the wider aviation community.
Project Closure and Next Steps
While the HERON project will officially conclude at the end of December 2025, the solutions presented are ready to support the European Green Deal’s objectives today. The SESAR Solutions matured by the consortium have proven that the technology for a more sustainable aviation sector is not a distant dream—it is rolling out now.
We thank all the partners, stakeholders, and attendees who contributed to making this final dissemination event a resounding success.
Download the Presentations
Did you miss a session or want to dive deeper into the technical details? You can access the full slide deck from the event below.
