Austro Control ready for European cooperation
2009 cost reduction programme successfully implemented; traffic growth expected in 2010; charges to be frozen in 2011
Traffic down by 7.7% overall, 10% in Vienna last year
Instrument flights decreased by 7.7% to 1.1 million (m) in 2009. Terminal services also slumped, with landings at Vienna International Airport worst affected (-10%), followed by Graz (-7.5%). In all, landings at Austrian airports diminished by 7.7%.
The Austrian aviation industry witnessed the sharpest decline in traffic in its history in 2009.
Worst crisis in Austrian aviation history countered with record-breaking cost reduction programme
These weak traffic figures were reflected in Austro Control’s results. Revenue shrank by 4.4% year on year to EUR 202.4m – EUR 13m below budget. The company responded rapidly, with an ambitious internal cost reduction programme. These measures kept the loss on ordinary activities to EUR 2.1m (2008: POA of EUR 0.4m). This roughly corresponds to the impact of the Sky Europe collapse. “The cost savings almost exactly balanced the revenue losses due to the international aviation crisis,” said joint managing director Heinz Sommerbauer, who praised the constructive approach of the employee representatives to the cuts.
Charges frozen in 2011
Unlike most other air navigation service providers (ANSPs), Austro Control is keeping its charges steady in 2011, significantly enhancing the airlines’ planning visibility as a result.
Big improvement in punctuality
Punctuality improved significantly at Vienna International Airport in 2009, and the average delay per flight for arrivals and departures was down by 47% from 1.74 to 0.92 minutes. Austro Control also put in an excellent performance with regard to en route services, with the average delay per flight dropping by 12%.
Traffic growing despite ash cloud
In spite of the massive disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud in April, Austro Control sees air traffic edging up in 2010. Total flight movements increased by 0.3% up to and including May, though landings in Vienna dipped by 0.7%. The impact of the closures of airspace across Europe in mid-April prevented more rapid overall traffic growth. Total flight movements slid by 10.3%, and landings at Vienna International Airport by 6.4% in April.
Drive to increase the number of air traffic controllers continuing
“We are highly optimistic about the long-term growth of aviation. As a result we are committed to stepping up the number of air traffic controllers, so as to ensure sufficient capacity for our customers,” commented joint managing director Johann Zemsky. Austro Control plans to boost staffing in Vienna by about 20% by 2012.
Following the success of last year’s event, which attracted over 1,500 visitors, an Info@Night open evening will be held again on 2 October to enable young people to see for themselves what a career as an air traffic controller is like.
Austro Control well prepared for the Single Sky
The fall-out from the volcanic ash cloud highlighted the urgency of a pan-European approach to aviation, and lent added impetus to the EU’s Single European Sky (SES) initiative. Austro Control is well prepared for these developments. SES is aimed at creating a common European airspace independent of national frontiers, which will be organised exclusively in accordance with traffic flows. This should help to make aviation safer and more efficient, and reduce costs. At the heart of these efforts is the creation of cross-border functional airspace blocks (FABs) by the end of 2012. The FABs are aimed at making aviation in Europe more efficient and environmentally friendly. On average, flights in Europe are currently 49 km longer than necessary. Apart from increased fuel costs for the airlines, this means an annual 5m metric tons of avoidable CO2 emissions. And the cost of airspace fragmentation to the airlines is put at EUR 1 billion per year.
Austro Control pressing ahead with Functional Airspace Block Central Europe (FAB CE) implementation
Austro Control and the Austrian Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology are making a concerted effort to promote the creation of a Central European functional airspace block. Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia plan to bring the FAB CE into operation by the end of 2012. The participating states are due to sign the FAB CE Agreement in the next few weeks. This will lay the groundwork for future cooperation in the FAB, and is the key to FAB CE implementation by the end of 2012.
Binding performance targets for ANSPs and charging scheme reform
Another important element of SES is the introduction of binding performance targets for air navigation service providers. From 2012 onwards ANSPs will be set safety, environmental, capacity and efficiency targets. These will first be established at European level and then broken down into national objectives. Examples include targets for the average delay per flight and increases in the unit rate.
The SES initiative will also bring about a reformed charging scheme. In recent years the current system, based on the cost recovery principle, has shown itself to be less than ideal. During economic downturns falling air traffic leads to increases in charges, whereas rates tend to be cut when traffic is rising. In future ANSPs will be allowed to retain a given percentage of the increased receipts from higher-than-expected traffic volume, and will no longer be permitted to pass on all of the increases in unit costs at times of lower traffic. They will also be prevented from making the airlines pay in full for operating losses caused by cost increases.
