Annual Monitoring Report 2023 - 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
2023: 1.9551 BGN
Share of Union-wide traffic (TSUs) 2023 3.8%
Share of Union-wide en route costs 2023 1.7%
Share en route / terminal costs 2023 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 974K actual IFR movements in 2023, +18% compared to 2022 (822K).
▪ Actual 2023 IFR movements were +18% above the plan (829K).
▪ Actual 2023 IFR movements are +11% above the actual 2019 level (879K).
▪ Bulgaria recorded 4,671K actual en route service units in 2023, +21% compared to 2022 (3,871K).
▪ Actual 2023 service units were +26% above the plan (3,709K).
▪ Actual 2023 service units are +16% above the actual 2019 level (4,032K).
Safety (Main ANSP)
▪ BULATSA improved its safety performance and achieved the RP3 targets for all management objectives. 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, which 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 does not use automated safety data recording systems.
Environment (Member State)
▪ Bulgaria achieved a KEA performance of 3.40% compared to its target of 2.25% and did not contribute positively towards achieving the Union-wide target.
▪ 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.
▪ Both KEP and SCR deteriorated in comparison to 2022.
▪ Bulgaria has no airports that are regulated under the performance and charging scheme.
Capacity (Member State)
▪ Bulgaria registered 0.06 minutes of average en route ATFM delay per flight during 2023, thus achieving the local target value of 0.07. Delays in Bulgaria increased by 0.06 minutes per flight year-on-year.
▪Delays were highest between June and September and in November, due to adverse weather.
▪The share of delayed flights with delays longer than 15 minutes in Bulgaria increased by 13 p.p. compared to 2022 and was higher than 2019 values.
▪The average number of IFR movements was 11% above 2019 levels in Bulgaria in 2023.
▪The number of ATCOs in OPS is expected to increase by 1% by 2024, with the actual value being over the 2023 plan in Sofia by 3 FTEs.
▪ The yearly total of sector opening hours in Sofia ACC was 39,503, showing a 13.4% increase compared to 2022. Sector opening hours are 9.2% above 2019 levels.
▪ Sofia ACC registered 23.99 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2023, being 1.6% above 2019 levels.
Cost-efficiency (En route/Terminal charging zone(s))
▪ The en route 2023 actual unit cost of Bulgaria was 22.82 €2017, -27% lower than the determined unit cost (31.41 €2017). Bulgaria does not have a terminal charging zone.
▪ The en route 2023 actual service units (4.7M) were +26% higher than the determined service units (3.7M).
▪ The en route 2023 actual total costs were -9.9 M€2017 (-8.5%) lower than determined. The gap was attributable to lower other operating costs (-8.2 M€2017, or -37%), mainly due to unpaid 10M BGN “alliance entry fee” (COOPANS or ITEC) which, if unpaid in 2024, will be reimbursed to users through the 2025 unit rate. Additionally, a much lower rate for the increase in energy prices, actual resources versus determined resources, and lower than determined external services costs contributed to overall lower operating costs.
▪ BULATSA spent 19 M€2017 in 2023 related to costs of investments, -7.0% lower than determined (20 M€2017). This difference arose from a reduction in fixed assets (-8.2 M€2017, or -15%) and a corresponding decline in the cost of capital (-1.3 M€2017, or -15%). The NSA explained that the difference is justified by the deduction of the liquidated damages received for two investment projects from the depreciation costs in 2023, which reduced the value of the related assets.
▪ The en route actual unit cost incurred by users in 2023 was 30.54€ (-10% below the 2023 DUC).
▪ The en route regulatory result for BULATSA amounted to +29 M€, or 21% of the 2023 revenue. This may indicate that the airspace users are charged for costs which have not materialised in 2023. The PRB will take into consideration the implementation of the RP3 performance plan when assessing the RP4 cost-efficiency targets.