PRB monitoring
▪ Hungary registered 0.01 minutes of average en route ATFM delay per flight during 2021, thus meeting the local breakdown value of 0.06.
▪ Delays should be considered in the context of lower traffic: in Hungary, IFR movements in 2021 were 45% lower than in 2019.
▪ Hungary has received additional traffic due to airspace closures East of the SES airspace which may expedite the recovery. 2019 traffic levels are likely to be reached in 2022 (in high growth scenario) or 2023 (in base growth scenario). A slight increase in the number of ATCOs in OPS is planned in Budapest ACC by the end of RP3.
▪ Based on the analysis of previous capacity profiles, the PRB estimates Hungary to face a capacity gap once IFR movements rise above 77% of 2019 levels. The PRB recommends that capacity improvement measures are implemented before traffic begins to recover.
▪ Delays were highest in August and October, mostly due to adverse weather conditions and ATC staffing issues.
▪ The share of delayed flights with delays longer than 15 minutes in Hungary increased by 23.71 p.p. compared to 2020 and was lower than 2019 values.
▪ The yearly total of sector opening hours in Budapest ACC was 27,901, showing a 35.8% increase compared to 2020. Sector opening hours are 17.5% below 2019 levels.
▪ Budapest ACC registered 17.03 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2021, being 31.7% below 2019 levels.
Summary of capacity performance
Hungary experienced an increase in traffic from 381k flights in 2020 to 491k flights in 2021, with practically zero ATFM delays. However, traffic levels were still substantially below the 892k flights in 2019.
NSA’s assessment of capacity performance
During the 2nd year of COVID pandemic the traffic level was still very low in Hungary, therefore to reach 0 minutes delay per flight was achievable. HungaroControl has put the focus on how to ensure the service continuity while minimizing the spread of virus among the operational personnel.
Monitoring process for capacity performance
In 2021 regular online meetings were organised between the ANSP and the NSA focusing on the issues like how to maintain the ATCOs proficiency. As the traffic demand was well below the planned capacity, capacity was not an issue.
Capacity planning
In 2021 the delay target was met, capacity planning was appropriate.
Application of Corrective Measures for Capacity (if applicable)
Not applicable
*Hungary has previously reported 97 & 93 FTE operational ATCOs in 2019 and 2020 respectively for LHCC ACC.
N/A
Hungary identified only its main airport Budapest as subject to RP3 monitoring. The Airport Operator Data Flow is correctly established and all capacity indicators can be monitored.
Traffic at Budapest airport in 2021 was still by 55% lower compared to 2019, with an important recovery in the second half of the year.
Average arrival ATFM delays in 2021 was 0 min/arr, compared to 0.08 min/arr in 2020.
ATFM slot adherence has deteriorated (2021: 96.0%; 2020: 96.2%).
No arrival ATFM delays were observed in the entire 2021 at Budapest (LHBP: 2019: 0.03 min/arr.; 2020: 0.08 min/arr.; 2021: 0 min/arr.)
The provisional national target on arrival ATFM delay in 2021 was met.
In accordance with Article 3 (3) (a) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1627: The incentive scheme shall cover only the calendar years 2022 to 2024.
| Airport level |
| Airport name |
Avg arrival
ATFM delay (KPI#2)
|
Slot adherence (PI#1)
|
ATC pre departure
delay (PI#2)
|
All causes pre departure
delay (PI#3)
|
| 2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
| Budapest |
0.08 |
0.00 |
NA |
NA |
96.2% |
96.0% |
NA% |
NA% |
0.14 |
0.14 |
NA |
NA |
12.6 |
15.6 |
NA |
NA |
ATFM slot adherence
With the drastic drop in traffic, regulated departures from Budapest virtually disappeared until July 2021.
Budapest’s ATFM slot compliance was 96.0%, very similar to the performance in 2020 (96.2%). With regard to the 4% of flights that did not adhere, 2.4% was early and 1.6% was late.
ATC pre-departure delay
The performance in terms of ATC pre-departure delay at Budapest has further improved with respect to the previous years (LHBP; 2019: 0.30 min/dep.; 2020: 0.16 min/dep.; 2021: 0.14 min/dep.) Nevertheless, at monthly level the ATC pre-departure delay in second half of 2021 is getting closer to the 2019 values.
All causes pre-departure delay
The total (all causes) delay in the actual off block time at Budapest increased in 2021 (LHBP: 2020: 12.58 min/dep.; 2021: 15.61 min/dep.). The highest delays per flight were observed in February, averaging almost 25 min/dep.