PRB monitoring
▪ 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.
En route charging zone
| Actual and determined data |
| Total costs - nominal (M€) |
2020-2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
| Actual costs |
101 |
58 |
62 |
64 |
| Determined costs |
105 |
60 |
67 |
71 |
| Difference costs |
-3 |
-2 |
-5 |
-6 |
| Inflation assumptions |
2020-2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
| Determined inflation rate |
NA |
5.3% |
2.3% |
2.0% |
| Determined inflation index |
NA |
109.1 |
111.6 |
113.9 |
| Actual inflation rate |
NA |
8.1% |
3.9% |
2.3% |
| Actual inflation index |
NA |
112 |
116.4 |
119.1 |
| Difference inflation index (p.p.) |
NA |
+2.9 |
+4.8 |
+5.2 |
AUC vs. DUC
In 2024, the en route AUC was +7.9% (or +2.29 €2017) higher than the planned DUC. This results from the combination of significantly lower than planned TSUs (-17.8%) and significantly lower than planned en route costs in real terms (-11.4%, or -7.4 M€2017). It should be noted that the actual inflation index was +5.2 p.p. higher than planned.
En route service units
The difference between 2024 actual and planned TSUs (-17.8%) falls outside the -10% threshold foreseen in the traffic risk sharing mechanism. The resulting loss of en route revenues is therefore shared between the ANSP and the airspace users (see the main ANSP loss in Box 11).
En route costs by entity
The 2024 actual real en route costs are -11.4% (or -7.4 M€2017) lower than planned. This is the result of lower costs than planned for the main ANSP, DCAC Cyprus (-16.0%, or -7.2 M€2017) and the MET service provider (-17.1%, or -0.7 M€2017) and higher costs than planned for the NSA/EUROCONTROL (+2.8%, or +0.5 M€2017).
En route costs for the main ANSP at charging zone level
Significantly lower than planned en route costs in real terms for DCAC Cyprus in 2024 (-16.0%, or -7.2 M€2017) result from:
- Significantly lower than planned staff costs (-9.9% or -2.0 M€2017), mainly due to “an unforeseen change in the national pension law which came into effect in 2023 and affected public sector employees hired after 2011”
- Significantly lower than planned other operating costs (-22.6% or -4.0 M€2017), mainly due to ”lower than foreseen subscription costs associated with datalink, lower training costs associated with the transition in the new ACC and lower CNS costs (…)”;
- Significantly lower than planned depreciation (-13.9%), mainy due to “delays in implementation of certain projects, the reallocation of costs of one particular investment and the cancellation of (…) investments (…) rescheduled for RP4”
- Significantly lower than planned cost of capital (-22.9%), reported to be due to the above.
RP3 summary
When considering the whole of RP3 (2020-2024) for the Cyprus en route charging zone, the actual TSUs are -5.7% lower than planned, while actual costs in real terms are -7.1% lower than the determined costs (some -20.4 M€2017) over RP3. As a result, the weighted average actual unit cost over RP3 (34.29 €2017) is -1.4% lower than planned in the PP (34.79 €2017).
Actual unit cost incurred by the users (AUCU) (PI#1)
| AUCU components (€/SU) – 2024 |
| Components of the AUCU in 2024 |
€/SU |
| DUC |
31.70 |
| Inflation adjustment |
1.18 |
| Cost exempt from cost-sharing |
-0.97 |
| Traffic risk sharing adjustment |
3.68 |
| Traffic adj. (costs not TRS) |
2.00 |
| Finantial incentives |
0.27 |
| Modulation of charges |
0.00 |
| Cross-financing |
0.00 |
| Other revenues |
-0.17 |
| Application of lower unit rate |
0.00 |
| Total adjustments |
5.99 |
| AUCU |
37.68 |
| AUCU vs. DUC |
+ 18.9% |
| Cost exempt from cost sharing by item - 2024 |
€'000 |
€/SU |
| New and existing investments |
-1,278.3 |
-0.70 |
| Competent authorities and qualified entities costs |
369.0 |
0.20 |
| Eurocontrol costs |
88.8 |
0.05 |
| Pension costs |
-960.5 |
-0.52 |
| Interest on loans |
0.0 |
0.00 |
| Changes in law |
0.0 |
0.00 |
| Total cost exempt from cost risk sharing |
-1,781.0 |
-0.97 |
The actual en route unit cost incurred by airspace users (AUCU) in respect of activities performed in 2024 (37.68 €) is +18.9% higher than the nominal DUC (31.70 €). The difference between these two figures (+5.99 €/SU) is due to:
- the positive inflation adjustment resulting from higher than planned inflation (+1.18 €/SU);
- the impact of adjustments resulting from the costs exempted from cost sharing mechanism (-0.97 €/SU);
- the addition of the traffic risk sharing adjustments (+3.68 €/SU);
- the addition of the traffic adjustment (+2.00 €/SU) for the costs not subject to traffic risk sharing;
- the addition of the financial incentives (+0.27 €/SU); and
- the deduction of other revenues (-0.17 €/SU).
The share of the regulatory result (see items 10 to 14) in the AUCU (before the deduction of other revenues) is 10.4%.
DCAC Cyprus net gain on activity in the Cyprus en route charging zone in the year 2024
DCAC Cyprus reported a net gain of +4.6 M€, as a combination of a gain of +6.4 M€ arising from the cost sharing mechanism, with a loss of -2.2 M€ arising from the traffic risk sharing mechanism and a gain of +0.5 M€ relating to financial incentives.
DCAC Cyprus overall regulatory result (RR) for the en route activity
Ex-post, the overall RR taking into account the net gain from the en route activity mentioned above (+4.6 M€) and the actual RoE (+2.0 M€) amounts to +6.6 M€ (13.6% of the en route revenues). The resulting ex-post rate of return on equity is 19.2%, which is higher than the 5.7% planned in the PP.
RP3 summary
When considering the whole of RP3 (2020-2024), DCAC Cyprus generated a cumulative gain in respect of cost sharing of +13.6 M€, as actual total costs for RP3 were lower than planned. The traffic risk sharing mechanism generated a loss of -3.1 M€. Adding the gain of +1.0 M€ to be retained by the ATSP in respect of financial incentives and the actual RoE (+7.2 M€ over RP3) leads to an overall regulatory result of +18.8 M€, which corresponds to an average ex-post rate of return on equity of 13.4% (compared to 5.2% initially planned in the PP).