Safety - SES RP3

PRB monitoring

▪ 18 ANSPs achieved the RP3 targets for the effectiveness of safety management for all Management Objectives (one year before the end of RP3). The remaining 18 ANSPs can still meet the targets by the end of RP3, but will need to ensure measures are implemented. The risk that ANSPs will not meet the target has increased.

▪ Safety levels, measured through the safety PIs on occurrences, continue to improve with Union-wide rates of runway incursions and separation minima infringements decreasing again in 2023.

▪ The rate of accidents and serious incidents with ANS contribution continued to decrease, remaining in line with the trend over the past ten years.

Effectiveness of Safety Management (EoSM) (KPI#1)

Number of ANSPs on Target

Between 2022 and 2023, five ANSPs improved their minimum maturity level for at least one Management Objective (achieving the RP3 targets in 2023), while three ANSPs showed the minimum maturity level degrading and no longer achieved the target for at least one Management Objective (DSNA for all MOs except Safety Assurance, NAV Portugal for Safety Risk Management, and ROMATSA for Safety Risk Management). For all three ANSPs, the NSA downgraded the EoSM scores based on the verification. According to the performance plans, a total of 21 ANSPs planned to reach the RP3 targets in 2023. However, nine ANSPs were not able to achieve these targets.

Actual versus planned

While in the past ANSPs performed better than planned within the safety risk management area of their performance plans, less progress has been observed in 2023, with only one additional ANSP reaching the target level D . For other Management Objectives, 34 ANSPs had planned to already achieve the RP3 target level in 2022, but only 31 ANSPs managed to do so. 

ANSPs achieving the targets and Score

• 19 out of 36 ANSPs achieved the 2024 RP3 target level D for Safety Risk Management.
• 31 out of 36 ANSPs achieved the 2024 RP3 target level C for all other MOs (the four management objectives other than Safety Risk Management).
• 18 out of 36 ANSPs achieved the 2024 EoSM targets for RP3 in full.
The average EoSM score achieved by all ANSPs is 89. The minimum score achieved by an individual ANSPs is 70, while the maximum EoSM score is 100, which is achieved by five ANSPs, compared to seven ANSPs in 2022.

Number of ANSPs per Management Objective

17 ANSPs did not reach the target level D for the Safety Risk Management objective, three ANSPs did not reach the safety culture and safety policy and objectives, while two ANSPs did not reach safety assurance and safety promotion management objectives, respectively. Progress compared with 2022 has been limited, in particular in Safety Risk Management, where the performance of one ANSP degraded to level B.

Interdependency

Most ANSPs are at maturity levels C and D for interdependencies management objective. Despite that there is room for improvement since two ANSPs are at level B, no progress has been observed compared with 2022. This management objective is particularly important to ensure ANSPs cope safely with the impacts related to Russia’s war of aggression, and the recovery process after the pandemic when the pressures to trade-off resources towards other business objectives of the organisation are intensified due to loss of traffic and revenues in such period. One ANSP did not report the achieved maturity level.

Safety occurrences

Rate of runway incursions (RIs) (PI#1)

Rate of RI per 100,000 airport movements
TOP 10 APTs in terms of movements
TOP 10 APTs in terms of number of RIs
TOP 10 APTs in terms of rate of RIs
# Airport name APT mvts. Number of RI Rate RI per 100,000 mvts. # Airport name APT mvts. Number of RI Rate RI per 100,000 mvts. # Airport name APT mvts. Number of RI Rate RI per 100,000 mvts.
1 Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle 548,705 4 0.73 1 Dublin 241,597 12 4.97 1 Radom 1,053 1 94.97
2 Amsterdam - Schiphol 458,568 3 0.65 2 Warsaw 165,434 9 5.44 2 Tartu 3,896 1 25.67
3 Frankfurt 430,389 1 0.23 3 Warszawa - Modlin 21,508 5 23.25 3 Warszawa - Modlin 21,508 5 23.25
4 Madrid - Barajas 389,223 0 0.00 4 Athinai-Eleftherios Venizelos 246,513 5 2.03 4 Bydgoszcz 4,378 1 22.84
5 Barcelona 319,056 2 0.63 5 Stavanger 70,933 4 5.64 5 Dôle-Tavaux 9,678 1 10.33
6 Munich 299,771 0 0.00 6 Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle 548,705 4 0.73 6 Groningen 9,910 1 10.09
7 Rome - Fiumicino 266,510 0 0.00 7 Amsterdam - Schiphol 458,568 3 0.65 7 Stavanger 70,933 4 5.64
8 Athinai-Eleftherios Venizelos 246,513 5 2.03 8 Malta International 59,196 3 5.07 8 Hyères-Le Palyvestre 35,943 2 5.56
9 Zürich 243,029 0 0.00 9 Bergen 98,452 2 2.03 9 Warsaw 165,434 9 5.44
10 Dublin 241,597 12 4.97 10 Krakow - Balice 65,731 2 3.04 10 Istres-Le Tubé 19,164 1 5.22

RI rate

The rate of runway incursions has decreased since 2021 and decreased again in 2023 from 4.2 to 3.5 occurrences per 100,000 movements.

RI 2022-2023

In 2023, the rate of RIs of all types decreased by 17%, while the rate of RIs with ANS contribution increased by 42%. The absolute number of RIs marginally increased by 1.8%, while the number of RIs with ANS contribution decreased by 30%. Similarly to 2022, in 2023 at Member State level, the management of risks associated to RIs of all types showed improvement.

RI with Safety Impact by State

The highest RI with Safety Impact occurred in Malta (15.2), followed by Sweden (11.40) and Spain (10.6). In 2023, seven Member States were above the Union-wide rate, while only four were above the Union-wide rate in 2022.

RI with Safety Impact by Airport

Out of 153 airports included in the performance plans, 43 airports reported RIs with ATS/CNS contribution. The 110 airports included in the performance and charging scheme that reported no RIs are not shown in the figure. The majority of airports reported one or two RIs. This makes the rate of runway incursions at airports with a low number of movements very susceptible to variations in the number of occurrences. For example, of the top ten airports with the highest rates of runway incursions, eight had fewer than 30,000 airport movements.
Airports with significantly higher traffic figures and with the highest rates of RIs are EPWA (Warsaw) with 5.44 RI per 100,000 movements, followed by EIDW (Dublin) with 4.97 per 100,000 movements. These providers should consider looking into the reasons contributing to these rates and take appropriate mitigating actions, as necessary.

Rate of separation minima infringements (SMIs) (PI#2)

Rate of SMI with ANS contribution per 100,000 flight hours
# State
Flight hours
Number of SMIs
Rate of SMI per 100,000 flight hours
% variation in rate of SMIs
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
1 Austria 155,355 202,666 317,434 359,408 NA 7 9 14 4 NA 4.5 4.4 4.4 1.1 NA NA -2% -1% -75% NA
2 Belgium 55,762 134,413 97,089 100,450 NA 1 5 6 13 NA 1.8 3.7 6.2 12.9 NA NA +108% +66% +109% NA
3 Bulgaria 127,863 174,114 290,422 342,298 NA 1 0 0 0 NA 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 NA NA -100% 0% 0% NA
4 Croatia 106,693 155,957 249,018 281,231 NA 0 0 3 5 NA 0.0 0.0 1.2 1.8 NA NA 0% 0% +48% NA
5 Cyprus 78,614 116,453 167,670 191,955 NA 0 3 6 5 NA 0.0 2.6 3.6 2.6 NA NA 0% +39% -27% NA
6 Czech Republic 113,261 135,047 178,983 194,893 NA 7 11 8 6 NA 6.2 8.2 4.5 3.1 NA NA +32% -45% -31% NA
7 Denmark 98,936 99,279 183,043 200,904 NA 0 2 0 2 NA 0.0 2.0 0.0 1.0 NA NA 0% -100% 0% NA
8 Estonia 33,558 37,464 48,360 50,258 NA 4 5 3 5 NA 11.9 13.3 6.2 9.9 NA NA +12% -54% +60% NA
9 Finland 57,321 62,275 88,850 97,259 NA 0 3 8 2 NA 0.0 4.8 9.0 2.1 NA NA 0% +87% -77% NA
10 France 1,051,941 1,415,222 2,178,853 2,368,932 NA 133 272 304 226 NA 12.6 19.2 13.9 9.5 NA NA +52% -27% -32% NA
11 Germany 700,899 952,606 1,263,985 1,329,631 NA 6 8 22 12 NA 0.9 0.8 1.7 0.9 NA NA -2% +107% -48% NA
12 Greece 276,276 418,381 650,415 738,472 NA 24 31 42 51 NA 8.7 7.4 6.5 6.9 NA NA -15% -13% +7% NA
13 Hungary 116,008 149,648 259,939 313,567 NA 2 7 6 6 NA 1.7 4.7 2.3 1.9 NA NA +172% -51% -17% NA
14 Ireland 131,294 105,105 288,261 331,211 NA 2 7 8 13 NA 1.5 6.7 2.8 3.9 NA NA +338% -58% +41% NA
15 Italy 494,359 747,998 1,141,849 1,242,479 NA 26 33 81 78 NA 5.3 4.4 7.1 6.3 NA NA -16% +61% -11% NA
16 Latvia 39,170 46,440 52,501 53,203 NA 1 0 1 1 NA 2.5 0.0 1.9 1.9 NA NA -100% 0% -1% NA
17 Lithuania 36,493 47,794 47,286 48,220 NA 1 0 2 2 NA 2.7 0.0 4.2 4.2 NA NA -100% 0% -2% NA
18 Luxembourg 5,067 11,425 17,665 11,608 NA 0 3 4 3 NA 0.0 26.3 22.6 25.8 NA NA 0% -14% +14% NA
19 MUAC 289,985 311,843 545,651 605,633 NA 5 0 8 17 NA 1.7 0.0 1.5 2.8 NA NA -100% 0% +91% NA
20 Malta 40,016 44,905 62,700 84,404 NA 0 1 0 1 NA 0.0 2.2 0.0 1.2 NA NA 0% -100% 0% NA
21 Netherlands 88,456 101,649 155,388 169,414 NA 31 47 33 37 NA 35.0 46.2 21.2 21.8 NA NA +32% -54% +3% NA
22 Norway 235,547 257,160 646,054 441,775 NA 27 14 84 14 NA 11.5 5.4 13.0 3.2 NA NA -53% +139% -76% NA
23 Poland 221,029 278,330 361,376 386,507 NA 8 15 39 34 NA 3.6 5.4 10.8 8.8 NA NA +49% +100% -18% NA
24 Portugal 175,009 215,958 406,816 854,121 NA 10 13 30 22 NA 5.7 6.0 7.4 2.6 NA NA +5% +22% -65% NA
25 Romania 171,847 247,561 384,582 455,861 NA 3 4 12 4 NA 1.8 1.6 3.1 0.9 NA NA -7% +93% -72% NA
26 Slovakia 41,055 54,376 86,171 100,173 NA 0 2 0 1 NA 0.0 3.7 0.0 1.0 NA NA 0% -100% 0% NA
27 Slovenia 28,029 40,145 61,705 67,568 NA 0 2 4 3 NA 0.0 5.0 6.5 4.4 NA NA 0% +30% -31% NA
28 Spain 741,278 954,783 1,632,981 1,820,236 NA 25 59 89 127 NA 3.4 6.2 5.4 7.0 NA NA +83% -12% +28% NA
29 Sweden 199,288 218,597 333,262 352,610 NA 2 19 31 16 NA 1.0 8.7 9.3 4.5 NA NA +769% +7% -51% NA
30 Switzerland 150,242 137,471 318,606 325,987 NA 0 2 5 3 NA 0.0 1.4 1.6 0.9 NA NA 0% +8% -41% NA

SMI

Despite the increase in traffic levels in 2023 (ANSPs handled 9.1 million flights compared to 8.3 million flights in 2022, or a 9% increase), the SMI occurrence rate has dropped regardless the factors involved, including those with ANS contribution, by 13% and 22%, respectively. The absolute number of occurrences have experienced a decrease of 4.6% and 12%, respectively.

SMI 2022-2023

Member States showed in general a decrease in the rate of SMIs between 2022 and 2023, with some exceptions, indicating an overall improvement across Member States.
The highest rate occurred in Luxembourg (25.8). Because the number of controlled hours is very low in its airspace, any small increase in absolute number of occurrences results in very significant changes in the rate, as it has been the case in 2022.
Spain recorded almost a 40% increase in the rate of SMIs in 2023 compared to 2022 (23.2 compared to 16.6). Spain activated an Action Plan at national and local levels to mitigate this type of incidents in 2023 and continuing into 2024.

SMI by State

30 ANSPs reported SMIs, which had an ATS/CNS contribution.
The highest number of SMIs with ANS contribution occurred in DSNA´s airspace (226) but the high number of controlled hours resulted in a lower rate (9), despite being well above the Union average. The rate decreased by -31% with respect to 2022, showing continuous improvement. DSNA should continue to assess occurrences and put in place appropriate mitigations according to their SMS, as necessary.
The highest rate of SMIs was in the ANA LUX aispace (25.8 SMIs per 100,000 flight hours), but with a very low absolute number of occurrences (3 SMIs). The rate increased by 14% with respect to 2022.
Additionally, skeyes and EANS experienced a high increase of rate of SMIs. In both cases, the number of controlled hours is relatively low, hence the sensitivity of the rate to variations in the numbers of SMIs is high. Both should carefully monitor SMIs during the final year of RP3, looking into the reasons contributing to this rate and take appropriate mitigating actions, as necessary.


Quality of occurences reporting

Occurrence reporting quality

For the calculation of the indicators related to SMIs and RIs, RP3 safety supporting material requires that occurrences data reported in the ECR under Commission Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 is used. ANSPs and NSAs should ensure that the information provided through the ECR reporting contains the information needed to compute the performance indicators for monitoring SMIs and RIs. EASA would extract the information needed to calculate the SPIs which are then sent to Member States for verification and elaboration in their PMRs.

However, so far in RP3, EASA has not been able to extract data from the ECR containing all needed information to compute the SPIs. This is because of the overall poor quality of the data uploaded to the ECR: A significant part of occurrences extracted from ECR did not contain information on severity and risk, as required to compute the SPIs, and in many cases basic information was missing. Member States had to extract the occurrences from their own national databases with no further involvement from or verification by EASA.

For the calculation of the indicators related to SMIs and RIs (SPI1a, SPI1b, SPI1c, and SPI1d), the occurrences that should be used in the computation of the different rates are only those that have a “safety impact”. Whether an occurrence has a safety impact or not should be determined by NSAs using the common European Risk Classification Scheme (ERCS), and by ANSPs through the severity classification using the Risk Analysis Tool (RAT). This information was barely found encoded in the ECR’s occurrences. While there has been some improvement, it is not such that the values may be calculated using ECR data as planned.

The delegated act that regulates the application of ERCS entered into force as from 1st January 2023, so the application of it was mandatory during 2023, but still a poor quality of data in the ECR is observed. ANSP’s use of the RAT was close to 100% at the end of RP2, but its use is not mandated in RP3. Because EASA has not been able to verify the data submitted, this report relies on the correct application of the ERCS and RAT by NSAs and ANSPs.

It is likely that some have not applied the ERCS and RAT resulting in greater subjectivity in ANSP and NSA interpretations of what constitutes an occurrence that had a safety impact. Nevertheless, this does not invalidate the analysis, but it should be taken into consideration when interpreting the data. In the last year of RP3, Member States should ensure that both the RAT severity and the ERCS risk score are encoded for each occurrence to allow EASA to compute independently the SPIs. Otherwise, they will have to extract and submit the occurrences used in the computation of the SPIs themselves.