Cost-efficiency - Greece
PRB monitoring
▪ The en route 2023 actual unit cost of Greece was 21.25 €2017, -21% lower than the determined unit cost (26.96 €2017). The terminal 2023 actual unit cost was 148.20 €2017, -19% lower than the determined unit cost (182.18 €2017).
▪ The en route 2023 actual service units (7.3M) were +11% higher than the determined service units (6.6M).
▪ The en route 2023 actual total costs were -26 M€2017 lower (-15%) than determined (not considering the determined exceptional items relating to 2021), marking an underspend across all cost categories. The largest reduction was in staff costs (-16 M€2017, or -12%), followed by significantly lower depreciation costs (-6.3 M€2017, or -73%), other operating costs (-2.4 M€2017, or -7.6%), and cost of capital (-2.2 M€2017, or -60%). The NSA did not provide sufficient explanations for these results. The PRB recommends that the NSA submit an updated Additional Information to the Reporting Tables, providing more comprehensive explanations for the differences between the actual and determined costs in each cost category. The PRB highlights that the actual number of ACC ATCOs in OPS FTEs for HASP were -31% below plan.
▪ HASP spent 1.4 M€2017 in 2023 related to costs of investments for both en route and terminal charging zones, -87% less than determined (8.9 M€2017), due to postponed investment projects. The NSA did not provide explanations for the non-implementation of the three new major investments that were scheduled for 2023. As for the previous monitoring year, the discrepancies regarding costs of investments were significant.
▪ The en route actual unit cost incurred by users in 2023 was 26.91€ (-6.3% below the 2023 DUC), while the terminal actual unit cost incurred by users was 148.21€ (-24% below the 2023 DUC). The difference between the AUCU and the DUC in terminal charging zone is primarily attributed to the loss of revenue relating to the application of a lower unit rate, which amounted to -5.4 M€.
▪ The en route regulatory result for HASP amounted to +21 M€, or 12% 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 plans when assessing the RP4 cost-efficiency targets and urges Greece to take immediate, adequate, and proportionate action to implement the relevant ATCO and investment plans committed to in the RP3 performance plan.
En route charging zone
Unit cost (KPI#1)
| Actual and determined data | ||||
| Total costs - nominal (M€) | 2020-2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actual costs | 257 | 165 | 177 | NA |
| Determined costs | 277 | 172 | 189 | 204 |
| Difference costs | -20 | -8 | -12 | NA |
| Inflation assumptions | 2020-2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Determined inflation rate | NA | 4.5% | 1.3% | 1.6% |
| Determined inflation index | NA | 106.5 | 107.9 | 109.7 |
| Actual inflation rate | NA | 9.3% | 4.2% | NA |
| Actual inflation index | NA | 111.4 | 116.1 | NA |
| Difference inflation index (p.p.) | NA | +4.9 | +8.2 | NA |
Actual unit cost incurred by the users (AUCU) (PI#1)
| AUCU components (€/SU) – 2023 | |
| Components of the AUCU in 2023 | €/SU |
|---|---|
| DUC | 28.73 |
| Inflation adjustment | 1.64 |
| Cost exempt from cost-sharing | -1.12 |
| Traffic risk sharing adjustment | -1.45 |
| Traffic adj. (costs not TRS) | -0.45 |
| Finantial incentives | -0.44 |
| Modulation of charges | 0.00 |
| Cross-financing | 0.00 |
| Other revenues | 0.00 |
| Application of lower unit rate | 0.00 |
| Total adjustments | -1.81 |
| AUCU | 26.92 |
| AUCU vs. DUC | -6.3% |
| Cost exempt from cost sharing by item - 2023 | €'000 | €/SU |
|---|---|---|
| New and existing investments | -8,545.5 | -1.17 |
| Competent authorities and qualified entities costs | -196.2 | -0.03 |
| Eurocontrol costs | 570.7 | 0.08 |
| Pension costs | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| Interest on loans | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| Changes in law | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| Total cost exempt from cost risk sharing | -8,171.1 | -1.12 |