Hungarian air traffic control company HungaroControl has been the first in Europe to abolish the fixed flight route network on the whole, the company said on Thursday.

The significance of the new Hungarian Free Route Airspace traffic management concept is that it allows airplanes to take the shortest possible flight path between the entry and exit points in Hungarian airspace, the company told MTI.

This allows airlines to save fuel worth an estimated 3 million US dollars per year, resulting also in a reduction of CO₂ emissions by more than 16 million kilogrammes, experts say.

A European Commission regulation requires all EU member states to introduce the Free Route airspace, above 9,000 metres across the whole of Europe by January 1, 2022.