Annual Monitoring Report 2021 - Croatia
Contextual information
National performance plan adopted following Commission Decision (EU) 2022/764 of 13 April 2022
List of ACCs 1
Zagreb ACC
No of airports in the scope of the performance plan
≥80’K 0
<80’K 0
Exchange rate (1 EUR=)
2017: 1 EUR
2021: 1 EUR
Share of Union-wide traffic (TSUs) 2021 2.3%
Share of Union-wide en route costs 2021 1.3%
Share en route / terminal costs 2021 100% / 0%
En route charging zone(s)
Croatia
Terminal charging zone(s)
Main ANSP
• Croatia Control
Other ANSPs
–
MET Providers
–
Traffic (En route traffic zone)
▪ Croatia recorded 461K actual IFR movements in 2021, +53% compared to 2020 (301K).
▪ Actual 2021 IFR movements were +0.4% above the plan (459K).
▪ Actual 2021 IFR movements represent 65% of the actual 2019 level (714K).
▪ Croatia recorded 1,519K actual en route service units in 2021, +63% compared to 2020 (929K).
▪ Actual 2021 service units were +0.6% above the plan (1,510K).
▪ Actual 2021 service units represent 69% of the actual 2019 level (2,193K).
Safety (Main ANSP)
▪ Croatia Control improved performance in safety policy and objectives area and consequently achieved the target in 2021. Croatia Control still needs to improve in the area of risk management. Proactive safety management system established at CCL gives confidence that the ANSP will achieve the targets before the end of RP3. The Croatian NSA monitors safety performance of CCL via its continuous oversight function.
▪ Croatia recorded a stable performance with respect to the safety occurrences with increased in rate of runway incursions (RIs) and no occurrences of separation minima infringements (SMIs) in 2021.
▪ Croatia monitors safety performance using specific safety tools, including the automated safety data recording systems for the recording of separation minima infringements.
▪ Croatia Control should improve its safety management by implementing automated safety data recording systems for runway incursions.
Environment (Member State)
▪ Croatia continues to meet the KEA target for the fifth year in a row and its performance is the best since 2017, despite the traffic increased compared to 2020.
▪ The extension of SECSI FRA to Albania and North Macedonia further increased flight efficiency in the cross border free route airspace area in Southeast Europe.
▪ Croatia improved SCRs and further improved KEP by 0.19 p.p..
▪ SCR and KEP values are similar, meaning airspace users plan routes that are very close to the shortest available.
▪ Croatia has no airports that are regulated under the RP3 performance and charging scheme.
Capacity (Member State)
▪ Croatia registered 0.07 minutes of average en route ATFM delay per flight during 2021, thus meeting the local breakdown value of 0.09. The delays accrued in the period between July and September during the 2021 summer traffic recovery with ATC capacity, weather, and ATC staffing being the main delay causes.
▪ Delays should be considered in the context of lower traffic: in Croatia, IFR movements in 2021 were 35% lower than in 2019.
▪ Traffic is expected to grow with 2019 levels likely being reached in 2022 (in high growth scenario) or by 2024 (in base growth scenario). An increase in the number of ATCOs in OPS is planned during RP3 enabling Croatia to prepare for the traffic recovery.
▪ Delays were highest in July and August, mostly driven by adverse weather conditions and ATC Capacity issues.
▪ The share of delayed flights with delays longer than 15 minutes in Croatia decreased by 28.32 p.p. compared to 2020 and was lower than 2019 values.
▪ The yearly total of sector opening hours in Zagreb ACC was 24,761, showing a 22.6% increase compared to 2020. Sector opening hours are 32.6% below 2019 levels.
▪ Zagreb ACC registered 17.60 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2021, being 3.5% below 2019 levels.
Cost-efficiency (En route/Terminal charging zone(s))
▪ The en route 2020/2021 actual unit cost of Croatia was 65.22 €2017, -6.1% lower than the determined unit cost (69.46 €2017). Croatia does not have a terminal charging zone.
▪ The en route 2021 actual service units (1,519K) were in line with the determined service units (1,510K).
▪ The en route 2021 actual total costs were -9.8 M€2017 (-12%) lower than determined. The significant decrease was mainly attributable to lower staff costs (-5.1 M€2017, or -10%) and other operating costs (-3.8 M€2017, or -20%) mainly due to: (i) higher inflation than planned; and (ii) continuation of the cost containment measures from 2020 (e.g. salary cuts, decrease trainings, etc.). The NSA should provide an analysis of the impact on future performance caused by the significantly lower than determined staff costs.
▪ Croatia Control spent 11 M€2017 in 2021 related to costs of investments, -10% less than determined (13 M€2017) due to delays in the investment plan in order to preserve liquidity.
▪ The discrepancies regarding total costs and costs of investments are significant, especially as the performance plan has been submitted at the end of 2021. The PRB invites the NSA to analyse the discrepancies and identify their reasons, including potential inaccurate planning and possible misusing of the regulatory framework to finance the liquidity.
▪ The en route actual unit cost incurred by users in 2020/2021 was 65.86€.