Annual Monitoring Report 2022 - Belgium
Contextual information
National performance plan adopted following Commission Decision (EU) 2024/350 of 13 December 2023
List of ACCs 1
Brussels ACC
No of airports in the scope of the performance plan
≥80’K 1
<80’K 0
Exchange rate (1 EUR=)
2017: 1 EUR
2022: 1 EUR
Share of Union-wide traffic (TSUs) 2022 1.9%
Share of Union-wide en route costs 2022 3.5%
Share en route / terminal costs 2022 87% / 13%
En route charging zone(s)
Belgium-Luxembourg
Terminal charging zone(s)
Belgium
Main ANSP
• skeyes
Other ANSPs
• MUAC
MET Providers
–
Traffic (En route traffic zone)
▪ The en route charging zone of Belgium-Luxembourg recorded 1,023K actual IFR movements in 2022, +60% compared to 2021 (639K).
▪ Actual 2022 IFR movements were -0.9% below the plan (1,033K).
▪ Actual 2022 IFR movements represent 82% of the actual 2019 level (1,249K).
▪ The en route charging zone of Belgium-Luxembourg recorded 2,096K actual en route service units in 2022, +80% compared to 2021 (1,167K).
▪ Actual 2022 service units were -0.5% above the plan (2,108K).
▪ Actual 2022 service units represent 80% of the actual 2019 level (2,620K).
Safety (Main ANSP)
▪ In 2022, skeyes did not achieve its planned maturity level for safety culture but it improved for other management objectives, reaching the RP3 target for safety assurance. The ANSP, together with the NSA, established a Safety Development Plan with corrective actions focusing on improving safety culture to ensure the required RP3 target levels are met by 2024.
▪ The overall safety performance of skeyes was stable, the runway incursion rate was lower than in 2021 and remained below the Union-wide average.
▪ Skeyes could improve its safety management by implementing automated safety data recording systems.
Environment (Member State)
▪ Belgium achieved a KEA performance of 3.53% compared to its target of 3.05% and did not contribute positively to the Union-wide target. KEA performance is at similar levels to 2021.
▪ The NSA states that given the limited size of the Belgium-Luxembourg airspace, possibilities to improve the KPI are also limited.
▪ Both KEP and SCR improved in comparison with 2021’s performance.
▪ The share of CDO flights decreased by 12.76% compared to 2021.
▪ During 2022, additional time in terminal airspace increased from 0.47 to 0.57 min/flight, while additional taxi out time increased from 1.28 to 1.53 min/flight.
Capacity (Member State)
▪ Belgium-Luxembourg registered 0.13 minutes of average en route ATFM delay per flight during 2022, thus achieving the local target value of 0.17.
▪ The average number of IFR movements was 18% below 2019 levels in Belgium-Luxembourg in 2022.
▪ In Brussels ACC, the number of ATCOs in OPS is planned to increase by 14% by the end of RP3, with the actual values remaining below the plan in 2022. In Maastricht ACC, a 9% increase in the number of ATCOs in OPS was planned by the end of RP3, but more ATCOs than anticipated have stopped working in OPS, thus not actual values remained below the plan in 2022.
▪ Delays were highest between June and December, mostly driven by ATC staffing.
▪ The share of delayed flights with delays longer than 15 minutes in Belgium increased by 14.18 p.p. compared to 2021 and was lower than 2019 values.
▪ The yearly total of sector opening hours in Brussels ACC was 28,405 in 2022, showing a slight decrease compared to 2021. Sector opening hours are 2.5% below 2019 levels.
▪ Brussels ACC registered 17.98 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2022, being 17.5% below 2019 levels.
Cost-efficiency (En route/Terminal charging zone(s))
▪ The en route 2022 actual unit cost of Belgium-Luxembourg was 98.91 €2017, 5.3% lower than the determined unit cost (104.47 €2017).
▪ The terminal actual unit cost of Belgium was 243.16 €2017, 3.6% lower than the determined unit cost (252.17 €2017).
▪ The en route 2022 actual service units (2,096K) were in line with the determined service units (2,108K).
▪ The en route 2022 actual total costs were 13 M€2017 (-5.8%) lower compared to the determined, as all cost categories decreased.
▪ The decrease was mainly attributable to lower staff cost (-6.3 M€2017, or -4.0%) and other operating costs (-5.9 M€2017, or -12%). The reduced staff cost was due to lower staff costs in MUAC. The NSA explained that the lower other operating costs is a consequence of delayed investments.
▪ Skeyes spent 12.7 M€2017 in 2022 related to costs of investments, 2.5% less than determined (13.0 M€2017), due to some projects that have been delayed.
▪ The en route actual unit cost incurred by users of Belgium-Luxembourg in 2022 was 119.54€, while the terminal actual unit cost incurred by users was 236.58€ for Belgium and 243.25€ for Luxembourg.