Annual Monitoring Report 2023 - Denmark
Contextual information
National performance plan adopted following Commission Decision (EU) 2022/770 of 13 April 2022
List of ACCs 1
Copenhagen ACC
No of airports in the scope of the performance plan
≥80’K 1
<80’K 0
Exchange rate (1 EUR=)
2017: 7.43692 DKK
2023: 7.44877 DKK
Share of Union-wide traffic (TSUs) 2023 1.2%
Share of Union-wide en route costs 2023 1.6%
Share en route / terminal costs 2023 81% / 19%
En route charging zone(s)
Denmark
Terminal charging zone(s)
Denmark
Main ANSP
• NAVIAIR
Other ANSPs
–
MET Providers
• DMI
Traffic (En route traffic zone)
▪ Denmark recorded 559K actual IFR movements in 2023, +11% compared to 2022 (505K).
▪ Actual 2023 IFR movements were -9.9% below the plan (621K).
▪ Actual 2023 IFR movements represent 84% of the actual 2019 level (669K).
▪ Denmark recorded 1,459K actual en route service units in 2023, +14% compared to 2022 (1,282K).
▪ Actual 2023 service units were -12% below the plan (1,661K).
▪ Actual 2023 service units represent 82% of the actual 2019 level (1,781K).
Safety (Main ANSP)
▪ In 2023, NAVIAIR improved its performance in safety assurance and safety promotion, achieving the EoSM RP3 targets. The ANSP lacked sufficient improvement in safety risk management and is still behind its planned maturity level as per performance plan.
▪ The NSA cautions that the ANSP might not be able to achieve the RP3 targets. The ANSP has identified specific measures to ensure level D in safety risk management achieved during 2024.
▪ Denmark did not record any RIs in 2023. The rate of separation minima infringements (SMIs) marginally increased but remained below the Union-wide average.
▪ NAVIAIR does not use automated safety data recording systems.
Environment (Member State)
▪ Denmark achieved a KEA performance of 1.44% compared to its target of 1.14% and did not contribute positively to achieving the Union-wide target.
▪ The NSA states that the main reason for NAVIAIR not achieving the target is the staffing challenges it faces.
▪ Both KEP and SCR improved in 2023. Despite the KEA target being missed, the improvement in SCR shows that Denmark has improved the environmental efficiency of its airspace when accounting for impacts outside of its control.
▪ The share of CDO flights decreased from 52.50% to 48.56% in 2023.
▪ During 2023, additional time in terminal airspace increased from 0.78 to 1.10 min/flight, while additional taxi out time increased from 2.37 to 2.59 min/flight.
Capacity (Member State)
▪ Denmark registered 0.10 minutes of average en route ATFM delay per flight during 2023, thus not achieving the local target value of 0.06. Delays in Denmark increased by 0.10 minutes per flight year-on-year.
▪ Delays were highest in February and between May and July, mostly due to ATC Capacity and Staffing.
▪ The share of delayed flights with delays longer than 15 minutes in Denmark increased by 8 p.p. compared to 2022 and was higher than 2019 values.
▪ The average number of IFR movements was 17% below 2019 levels in Denmark in 2023.
▪ The number of ATCOs in OPS is expected to decrease by 12% by 2024, with the actual value meeting the 2023 plan in Copenhagen.
▪ The yearly total of sector opening hours in Copenhagen ACC was 44,598, showing a 0.2% decrease compared to 2022. Sector opening hours are 0.2% below 2019 levels.
▪ Copenhagen ACC registered 10.93 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2023, being 15.4% below 2019 levels.
Cost-efficiency (En route/Terminal charging zone(s))
▪ The en route 2023 actual unit cost of Denmark was 68.15 €2017, +20% higher than the determined unit cost (56.92 €2017). The terminal 2023 actual unit cost was 154.36 €2017, +4.1% higher than the determined unit cost (148.24 €2017).
▪ The en route 2023 actual service units (1.5M) were -12% lower than the determined service units (1.7M), mainly due to shifted traffic flows caused by the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
▪ The en route 2023 actual total costs were +4.9 M€2017 (+5.2%) higher than the determined. This was mainly due to higher staff costs (+5.5 M€2017, or +11%). The NSA attributed this gap to several factors: A high number of additional shifts, the limited effects of the determined cost-saving strategy, and the execution of an agreement with the ATCO union. The NSA did not provide sufficient information on the reason for these additional shifts, which contrasts with the significant reduction in service units compared to the plan.
▪ The PRB highlights that the pension costs are +13% higher than planned. The NSA decided not to adjust this amount via cost-exempt mechanism.
▪ NAVIAIR spent 20.1 M€2017 in 2023 related to costs of investments for both en route and terminal charging zones, -3.5% less than determined (19.7 M€2017), due to fewer and delayed investments.
▪ The en route actual unit cost incurred by users in 2023 was 68.38€ (+16% above the 2023 DUC), while the terminal actual unit cost incurred by users was 171.47€ (+11% above the 2023 DUC). The difference between the AUCU and the DUC for the en route charging zone is primarily attributed to lower than planned SUs, while for the terminal charging zone, it is mainly due to the inflation adjustment (+19.7 M€).