The strong recovery in commercial aviation towards pre-pandemic levels continued across most of Europe in 2023. EUROCONTROL recorded 10.2 million flights across the European network, an increase of 10% on the 2022 total but still 8% below the total number of flights in 2019. European air traffic is expected to reach 96% of 2019 levels in 2024 and to fully recover in 2025. In Irish-controlled airspace, a record number of over 664,000 IFR flights were handled, marking an increase of 14% compared to 2022 and almost 3% higher than the 2019 total. In addition, AirNav Ireland provided high frequency (HF) voice communication services to almost 519,000 flights in North Atlantic oceanic airspace, an increase of 13.5% on 2022 levels. Commercial terminal traffic at the three state airports increased by almost 16% in 2023, over 2022, and concluded the year with a 0.8% increase on pre-pandemic levels, at just under 275,000 flights. AirNav Ireland contributed positively to the overall performance of the European network. Despite the challenges posed by a strong recovery in traffic demand following the pandemic, we continued to provide safe and efficient air navigation services and also maintained our enviable tradition of low levels of en-route and terminal ATFM (air traffic flow management) delays in Irish-controlled airspace. AirNav Ireland also recorded a departure slot adherence rate of over 95% at the three State airports, far exceeding the European target of 80%. |
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Throughout 2023, AirNav Ireland took significant steps forward toward environmental sustainability in aviation. We developed a Sustainability Management Plan (2024 - 2029), which was approved by the board and emphasises energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and biodiversity protection. Initiatives included installing electric vehicle charging points, upgrading infrastructure for energy efficiency, and conducting a biodiversity study to inform future action plans. Our commitment extends to surpassing government mandates, aiming for carbon net zero emissions by 2030. Irish controlled airspace is among Europe's most efficienct, benefiting our airline customers with improved environmental performance. In 2023, we collaborated with stakeholders on various initiatives to enhance overall environmental performance. These initiatives include:
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Since 2002, EUROCONTROL has conducted surveys to establish ANSP compliance with regulatory compliance as well as the level of implementation of safety management systems (SMS) within their organisations. The EUROCONTROL / CANSO SMS Standard of Excellence (SoE) safety maturity measurements contribute to establishing a global level for safety, based on the highest standards. The SoE covers 17 safety assessment areas, which are aligned with ICAO Annex 19, supporting the application of uniform safety standards across all ANSPs globally. The results of the 2023 SoE assessment indicate that AirNav Ireland's overall maturity is Level 'C', meaning the SMS is performing to a high standard. AirNav Ireland exceed Level 'C' maturity in multiple study areas, obtaining a recognised good practice for the implementation of its Safety Award, which recognises the contribution our staff make towards exceptional safety performance. AirNav Ireland achieved an overall score of 88%, placing it amongst the highest performing ANSPs internationally. |
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AirNav Ireland is recognised by its airline customers as one of the most customer-focused ATM providers in the world. Our customer care programme facilitates two-way communication with airlines and helps us to understand their operational needs and expectations so that AirNav Ireland can ensure it has the technology, procedures and resources in place to deliver the excellent service that meets airline expectations. For the 2023 programme, AirNav Ireland met with 28 airlines from across Europe, North America, and the Middle East, representing over 80% of our revenue. An independent consultancy was engaged to conduct an online survey of our customers' views on AirNav Ireland and the air traffic management services we provide. Those customers who responded to the survey awarded AirNav Ireland an overall customer satisfaction rating of 89.3% and the underlying messages about safety and service delivery were very positive. | .png?lang=en-IE "AirNav - Key Statistics & Facts (4)") |
With the rapid expansion of the market for unmanned aircraft, we have been actively involved with Irish-based drone operators. In 2023, AirNav Ireland approved around 4,000 UAS flights in controlled airspace in the Dublin, Cork and Shannon regions. We have also deployed an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Traffic Management (UTM) Platform in Dublin and Cork, titled Altitude Angel, allowing for a more automated approval process by UAS operators. In meeting the requirement of more automated systems for UAS, we continue to examine ways to further develop this service, in line with the requirements of EU Regulation 2021/664 and, in this regard, we continue to engage with the broader UAS stakeholder community to support the development of the U-Space market. This includes being an active partner in SESAR Joint Undertaking (S3JU) funded projects - EALU-AER, ENSURE and SPATIO - which represent a broad range of solution providers, other ANSPs and industry stakeholders. AirNav Ireland has, to date, facilitated drone operations on the airfield at Dublin Airport and we are also looking at how best to set out a roadmap for the development and deployment of U-Space in conjunction with the IAA which has responsibility for regulatory oversight. This includes looking at airspace structures that allow autonomous UAS operations without impacting ATM airspace, that in turn inform the next steps towards the rollout of U-Space. | .png?lang=en-IE "AirNav - Key Statistics & Facts (5)") |
