Annual Monitoring Report 2023 - Ireland
Contextual information
National performance plan adopted following Commission Decision (EU) 2022/766 of 13 April 2022
List of ACCs 2
Shannon ACC
Dublin ACC
No of airports in the scope of the performance plan
≥80’K 1
<80’K 2
Exchange rate (1 EUR=)
2017: 1 EUR
2023: 1 EUR
Share of Union-wide traffic (TSUs) 2023 3.9%
Share of Union-wide en route costs 2023 1.9%
Share en route / terminal costs 2023 81% / 19%
En route charging zone(s)
Ireland
Terminal charging zone(s)
Ireland
Main ANSP
• AirNav Ireland
Other ANSPs
–
MET Providers
• Met Eireann Aviation Services Division (ASD)
Traffic (En route traffic zone)
▪ Ireland recorded 664K actual IFR movements in 2023, +14% compared to 2022 (582K).
▪ Actual 2023 IFR movements were +4.9% above the plan (634K).
▪ Actual 2023 IFR movements are +3% above the actual 2019 level (647K).
▪ Ireland recorded 4,812K actual en route service units in 2023, +14% compared to 2022 (4,233K).
▪ Actual 2023 service units were -1.5% below the plan (4,883K).
▪ Actual 2023 service units are +4% above the actual 2019 level (4,641K).
Safety (Main ANSP)
▪ AirNav Ireland achieved the RP3 EoSM targets in four out of five management objectives, but still needs improvements in safety risk management. In 2023, the ANSP exceed the target achieving level D for safety culture.
▪ To ensure achieving the required level D for safety risk management, the ANSP set up as specific project plan under the leadership of Safety Manager containing specific measures in this area. The NSA considers that these measures should provide for the ANSP to achieve or exceed the targets the year 2024.
▪ Ireland recorded marginally higher rate of separation minima infringements and runway incursions relative to 2022. The rate of runway incursions was above the Union-wide average.
▪ The NSA has established associated safety targets and alert thresholds to provide quantifiable measures related to the achieved level of safety as defined by an Acceptable Level of Safety Performance (ALSP) of Ireland.
▪ AirNav Ireland do not use automated safety data recording systems.
Environment (Member State)
▪ Ireland achieved a KEA performance of 1.44% compared to its target of 1.13% and did not contribute positively towards achieving the Union-wide target.
▪ The NSA states that the target was not achieved mainly due to the UK’s implementation of FRA in SW UK, the NM’s initiative for Summer 2023, adverse weather, the French industrial action and the increase in the proportion of flights on the “Tango” routes.
▪ Both KEP and SCR deteriorated in comparison with 2022.
▪ The share of CDO flights increased marginally from 40.05% to 40.84% in 2023.
▪ During 2023, additional time in terminal airspace decreased marginally from 1.88 to 1.79 min/flight, while additional taxi out time decreased from 4.66 to 4.00 min/flight.
Capacity (Member State)
▪ Ireland registered 0.02 minutes of average en route ATFM delay per flight during 2023, thus achieving the local target value of 0.03. Delays in Ireland increased by 0.02 minutes per flight.
▪ Delays were highest between June and August, mostly due to ATC capacity and staffing.
▪ The share of delayed flights with delays longer than 15 minutes in Ireland increased by 15 p.p. compared to 2022 and was lower than 2019 values.
▪ The average number of IFR movements was 3% above 2019 levels in Ireland in 2023.
▪ The number of ATCOs in OPS is expected to stay the same by 2024, with the actual value being below the 2023 plan in Dublin by 4 FTEs. The number of ATCOs in OPS is expected to stay the same by 2024, with the actual value being below the 2023 plan in Shannon by 3 FTEs.
▪ The yearly total of sector opening hours in Dublin ACC was 18,816, showing a 1.1% increase compared to 2022. Sector opening hours are 1.1% above 2019 levels. The yearly total of sector opening hours in Shannon ACC was 42,707, showing a 7.1% decrease compared to 2022. Sector opening hours are 7.2% below 2019 levels.
▪ Dublin ACC registered 13.42 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2023, being 2.2% below 2019 levels. Shannon ACC registered 11.52 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2023, being 13.8% above 2019 levels.
Cost-efficiency (En route/Terminal charging zone(s))
▪ The en route 2023 actual unit cost of Ireland was 26.06 €2017, +4.2% higher than the determined unit cost (25.01 €2017). The terminal 2023 actual unit cost was 141.06 €2017, -16% lower than the determined unit cost (168.11 €2017).
▪ The en route 2023 actual service units (4.8M) were -1.5% lower than the determined service units (4.9M).
▪ The en route 2023 actual total costs were +3.8 M€2017 (+3.1%) higher than determined, driven by the NSA actual costs (16 M€2017), which were +123% above the determined costs (7.1 M€2017). The NSA has not provided an explanation for this significant increase. 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 NSA costs.
▪ On the other hand, both AirNav and the MET provider reported underspends of -4.2% and -16%, respectively, compared to the determined costs for 2023. The underspend reported by AirNav was largely due to lower actual other operating costs compared to determined (-2.8 M€2017, or -10%), attributed to the impact of the inflation index (in nominal terms, other operational costs were lower than determined by -1.0%). Depreciation costs also registered an underspend (-2.3 M€2017, or -27%), a reflection of delays in investment implementation. These underspends were partially offset by a difference in staff costs (+2.1 M€2017, or +3.5%), primarily due to one-off payments to employees who had experienced pay reductions in 2021.
▪ AirNav Ireland spent 16 M€2017 in 2023 related to costs of investments for both en route and terminal charging zones, -26% lower than determined (21 M€2017), as investments have been delayed due to shortages in resource availability and challenges with sourcing contractors and service providers.
▪ The en route actual unit cost incurred by users in 2023 was 29.51€ (+12% above the 2023 DUC), while the terminal actual unit cost incurred by users was 163.34€ (-7.1% below the 2023 DUC).