Single European Sky: annual monitoring highlights persistent capacity shortages and failure to meet environmental targets in 2023, as traffic recovers

The Performance Review Body (PRB) has published the 2023 Annual Monitoring Report and Traffic Light System - part of its yearly review of how Single European Sky (SES) Member States are performing.

In 2023, air traffic in the SES Member States rose to 91% of pre-pandemic levels, yet the capacity performance of air traffic management continued to deteriorate. Although financial resources were available, investment in staff and capacity projects by certain air navigation service providers was insufficient, which meant that the traffic surge following the pandemic could not be fully accommodated. This does not only affect the Member States concerned, but the entire network.

The PRB recognises the challenges for air navigation service providers (ANSPs) posed by traffic flow changes linked to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. However, ANSPs still need to improve performance by both investing and organising air traffic controller (ATCO) training. If done timely and cost-efficiently, both will boost capacity. ANSPs would then be able to open more sectors, provide more sector-opening hours, and achieve higher throughput.

EU-wide capacity shortages have unfortunately meant that environmental underperformance continued in 2023. The Traffic Light System Report indicates a persistent drop in performance among Member States, linked to Russia’s continued war of aggression against Ukraine, and insufficient capacity provision.

However, safety performance remains strong, with most ANSPs expected to meet their targets by the end of the third reference period in 2024 (RP3).

As RP3 nears its conclusion, Member States are developing their performance plans for the fourth reference period (RP4) from 2025-2029. The PRB advises them to consider ANSPs’ past performance, and to set ambitious plans that enable adequate and cost-efficient service delivery. This should include strong incentives to meet the targets.

Background

The Annual Monitoring Report evaluates the performance of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) against four key performance areas: safety, environment, capacity and cost-efficiency. The Traffic Light System also captures the environmental performance of air traffic management, considering different stages of a flight based on performance indicators established by the SES Performance and Charging Regulation.

The PRB has continued to digitalise its monitoring results. The digital dashboard showing results of both the Annual Monitoring Report as well as the Traffic Light System can be accessed at https://www.sesperformance.eu/.