Annual Monitoring Report 2024 - Cyprus
Contextual information
National performance plan adopted following Commission Decision (EU) 2022/2422 of 5 December 2022
List of ACCs 1
Nicosia ACC
No of airports in the scope of the performance plan
≥80’K 0
<80’K 0
Exchange rate (1 EUR=)
2017: 1 EUR
2024: 1 EUR
Share of Union-wide traffic (TSUs) 2024 1.4%
Share of Union-wide en route costs 2024 0.9%
Share en route / terminal costs 2024 100% / 0%
En route charging zone(s)
Cyprus
Terminal charging zone(s)
Main ANSP
• DCAC Cyprus
Other ANSPs
–
MET Providers
• Department of Meteorology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Traffic (En route traffic zone)
▪ Cyprus recorded 379K actual IFR movements in 2024, -5.7% compared to 2023 (402K).
▪ Actual 2024 IFR movements were -13.1% below the plan (436K).
▪ Actual 2024 IFR movements represent 96% of the actual 2019 level (411K).
▪ Cyprus recorded 1,836K actual service units in 2024, -11.1% compared to 2023 (2,066K).
▪ Actual 2024 service units were -17.9% below the plan (2,235K).
▪ Actual 2024 service units represent 89% of the actual 2019 level (2,068K).
Safety (Main ANSP)
▪ Cyprus did not manage to improve sufficiently over RP3 and did not achieve the RP3 targets for two of the five Management Objectives. This most likely will cause challenges during RP4.
▪ Cyprus showed a low rate of runway incursions (RIs) over RP3. The numbers of separation minima infringements (SMIs) showed a notable increase in 2024, but the rate remained below the Union-wide average.
▪ Cyprus should ensure that the ANSP implements, in a timely and cost-efficient manner, the necessary additional measures such as enhanced processes, improved allocation of resources, targeted training, and systematic reviews. Without such actions, the achievement of the RP4 targets could be jeopardised.
Environment (Member State)
▪ Cyprus achieved a KEA performance of 5.43% compared to its target of 3.84% and did not contribute positively towards achieving the Union-wide target.
▪ The NSA states that the target was not met due to the inability to optimise traffic flows in the entirety of the Nicosia FIR.
▪ Both KEP and SCR deteriorated in comparison to 2023.
▪ Cyprus has no airports regulated under the performance and charging scheme.
Capacity (Member State)
▪ Cyprus registered 0.01 minutes of average en route ATFM delay per flight during 2024, which remained 0.01 after the post-ops adjustment process, thus achieving the local target value of 0.15. Delays in Cyprus decreased by 0.03 minutes per flight year-on-year.
▪ Delays were highest in April and June, mainly due to the lack of ATC Capacity.
▪ The share of delayed flights with delays longer than 15 minutes in Cyprus decreased by 10 percentage points compared to 2023 and was lower than 2019 values.
▪ The average number of IFR movements was 8% below 2019 levels in Cyprus in 2024.
▪ The number of ATCOs in OPS is 100.5, being over the 2024 plan in Nicosia by 1 FTE.
▪ The yearly total of sector opening hours in Nicosia ACC was 27,580, showing a 2.6% increase compared to 2023. Sector opening hours are 6.7% below 2019 levels.
▪ Nicosia ACC registered 13.73 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2024, being 1.3% below 2019 levels.
Cost-efficiency (En route/Terminal charging zone(s))
▪ The en route 2024 actual unit cost of Cyprus was 31.40€2017, +7.9% higher than the determined unit cost (29.11€2017). Cyprus does not have a terminal charging zone.
▪ The en route 2024 actual service units (1.8M) were -18% lower than the determined service units (2.2M), mainly due to the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East, which significantly affected the traffic flows in Cyprus’ airspace.
▪ The en route 2024 actual total costs were -7.4M€2017 (-11%) lower than determined with all cost categories registering lower-than-planned costs. In particular, other operating costs for DCAC Cyprus were -4.0M€2017 (or -23%) lower than planned, due to lower-than-expected subscription costs associated with datalink, training costs associated with the transition to the new ACC and communications, navigation and surveillance costs.
▪ DCAC Cyprus costs of investments were 5.2M€2017 in 2024, -18% less than determined (6.3M€2017). According to the NSA, this gap is due to delays in the implementation of certain projects and the cancellation of some investments, which were rescheduled to RP4.
▪ The en route actual unit cost incurred by users in 2024 was 37.68€ (+19% above the 2024 DUC), mainly due to lower traffic than expected.
▪ The en route regulatory result for DCAC Cyprus amounted to +6.6M€, or 14% of the 2024 revenue, mainly driven by the positive difference between determined and actual costs to be retained by the ANSP.
▪ Cyprus should ensure that any excessive regulatory result, including excess funds received by the ANSP due to the inflation mechanism, is either reinvested to improve the quality of services delivered to airspace users or reimbursed to them.