Annual Monitoring Report 2022 - Bulgaria
Contextual information
National performance plan adopted following Commission Decision (EU) 2022/778 of 13 April 2022
List of ACCs 1
Sofia ACC
No of airports in the scope of the performance plan
≥80’K 0
<80’K 0
Exchange rate (1 EUR=)
2017: 1.95543 BGN
2022: 1.95525 BGN
Share of Union-wide traffic (TSUs) 2022 3.6%
Share of Union-wide en route costs 2022 1.7%
Share en route / terminal costs 2022 100% / 0%
En route charging zone(s)
Bulgaria
Terminal charging zone(s)
Main ANSP
• BULATSA
Other ANSPs
–
MET Providers
–
Traffic (En route traffic zone)
▪ Bulgaria recorded 822K actual IFR movements in 2022, +59% compared to 2021 (516K).
▪ Actual 2022 IFR movements were +18% above the plan (695K).
▪ Actual 2022 IFR movements represent 93% of the actual 2019 level (879K).
▪ Bulgaria recorded 3,871K actual en route service units in 2022, +71% compared to 2021 (2,270K).
▪ Actual 2022 service units were +24% above the plan (3,109K).
▪ Actual 2022 service units represent 96% of the actual 2019 level (4,032K).
Safety (Main ANSP)
▪ BULATSA did not achieve the RP3 target for safety risk management, but it exceeded the RP3 targets for safety assurance and safety promotion. BULATSA exceeded its planned maturity levels from the performance plan.
▪ Bulgaria adopted the specific safety measures to achieve the acceptable level of safety performance according to its National Safety Plan, that is a part of the National Safety Programme. The plan’s objectives included the integration of key safety initiatives to introduce continuous safety improvements.
▪ Bulgaria did not provide monitoring data for separation minima infringements (SMIs).
▪ BULATSA could improve its safety management by implementing automated safety data recording systems.
Environment (Member State)
▪ Bulgaria achieved a KEA performance of 3.28% compared to its target of 2.25% and did not contribute positively towards achieving the Union-wide target. It should be noted that KEA performance worsened in comparison to 2021.
▪ Both KEP and SCR deteriorated in comparison to 2021.
▪ The NSA states the reasons for not meeting the environmental targets are related to the geopolitical situation and airspace restrictions due to the Crimean crisis and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, shifts in traffic flows, and airspace user preferences.
▪ Bulgaria has no airports that are regulated under the RP3 performance and charging scheme.
Capacity (Member State)
▪ Bulgaria registered zero minutes of average en route ATFM delay per flight during 2022, thus achieving the local target value of 0.08.
▪ The average number of IFR movements was still 7% below 2019 levels in Bulgaria in 2022.
▪ The number of ATCOs in OPS is planned to increase by 7% by the end of RP3, with the actual value being realised above the 2022 plan in Sofia ACC.
▪ The yearly total of sector opening hours in Sofia ACC was 34,837 in 2022, showing a 45.9% increase compared to 2021. Sector opening hours are 3.7% below 2019 levels.
▪ Sofia ACC registered 22.94 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2022, being 2.9% below 2019 levels.
Cost-efficiency (En route/Terminal charging zone(s))
▪ The en route 2022 actual unit cost of Bulgaria was 25.86 €2017, -25% lower than the determined unit cost (34.55 €2017). Bulgaria does not have a terminal charging zone.
▪ The en route 2022 actual service units (3,871K) were +24% higher than the determined service units (3,109K).
▪ The en route 2022 actual total costs were 7.3 M€2017 (-6.8%) lower than determined. The decrease was attributable to lower staff costs (-5.6 M€2017, or -8.5%) and other operating costs (-3.0 M€2017, or -17%). Although total actual costs in nominal terms were slightly higher (+1.3%) than planned, the decreases in real terms were mainly resulting from higher-than-expected inflation.
▪ BULATSA spent 18.9 M€2017 in 2022 related to costs of investments, +2.6% higher than determined (18.4 M€2017). This was due to an increase in the depreciation cost, even though the net book value of fixed assets decreased.
▪ The en route actual unit cost incurred by users in 2022 was 33.11€.