Originally, the atlas was born as a tool for internal use in DG MOVE, so staff would be able to find information efficiently. The first step was to develop a central database, created in-house back in 1999-2000. It involved just one colleague from the aviation policy unit and one IT expert from the former information resources team.
After some time presenting aggregated data with MS Excel, Access and Business Objects, it was felt that a more illustrative way to present data through maps was needed. In 2007 an internal project was launched, in order to assess the feasibility of such a geographical tool. The work started with a small team of four colleagues, who took on the challenge of developing the project on top of their other daily activities.
The effort paid off and a first version of the internal tool was released in 2014, with a limited number of maps. The Atlas kept growing until finally, it was decided to release a version for the public.
The Atlas of the Sky targets not only the general public, but also specialists and operators in the air transport field. Maps are a great way to communicate complex data in a way that is easy to understand.
Looking at the Atlas, the user gets a glimpse of the magnitude of the fascinating aviation sector. Air transport is a key contributor to the European economy, with an overall economic impact of €621 billion. It supports 8.8 million jobs and handles around a billion passengers across a network of 400 EU airports.
If you want to discover more, no need to fasten your seat belts, just glide smoothly to the site below.
