Annual Monitoring Report 2024 - Germany
Contextual information
National performance plan adopted following Commission Decision (EU) 2023/177 of 14 December 2022
List of ACCs 4
Bremen ACC
Langen ACC
Karlsruhe UAC
Munich ACC
No of airports in the scope of the performance plan
≥80’K 7
<80’K 8
Exchange rate (1 EUR=)
2017: 1 EUR
2024: 1 EUR
Share of Union-wide traffic (TSUs) 2024 10.9%
Share of Union-wide en route costs 2024 14.1%
Share en route / terminal costs 2024 76% / 24%
En route charging zone(s)
Germany
Terminal charging zone(s)
Germany
Main ANSP
• DFS
Other ANSPs
• MUAC
MET Providers
• Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD)
Traffic (En route traffic zone)
▪ Germany recorded 3,052K actual IFR movements in 2024, +4.2% compared to 2023 (2,928K).
▪ Actual 2024 IFR movements were -9.3% below the plan (3,365K).
▪ Actual 2024 IFR movements represent 90% of the actual 2019 level (3,394K).
▪ Germany recorded 14,324 actual service units in 2024, +5.2% compared to 2023 (13,619K).
▪ Actual 2024 service units were -9.7% above the plan (15,858K).
▪ Actual 2024 service units represent 94% of the actual 2019 level (15,180K).
Safety (Main ANSP)
▪ DFS achieved the RP3 EoSM targets in 2021 and remained at or above the RP3 targets throughout the period.
▪ Germany reported a decrease in the rate of separation minima infringements (SMIs) in 2024, and no occurrences of runway incursions (RIs).
▪ As part of occurrence management at DFS, each reported safety-relevant event (e.g. RI and SMI) is analysed individually. Where appropriate, lessons are drawn from these analyses, and preventive measures are developed to avoid recurrence. In addition, continuous trend analyses are conducted, incorporating information from all SMS processes to identify systemic issues and support proactive safety management.
Environment (Member State)
▪ Germany achieved a KEA performance of 2.53% compared to its target of 2.30% and did not contribute positively towards achieving the Union-wide target.
▪ The NSA states that the longer routes persist due to re-routings caused by the war in Ukraine and weather-related issues.
▪ Both KEP and SCR improved in comparison with 2023. Despite the KEA target being missed, KEA improved in 2024. Additionally, the improvement in SCR shows that Germany has enhanced the environmental efficiency of its airspace when accounting for impacts outside of its control.
▪ The share of CDO flights remained stable in 2024.
▪ Both additional taxi out time and additional time in terminal airspace remained stable in 2024 compared to 2023.
Capacity (Member State)
▪ Germany registered 1.41 minutes of average en route ATFM delay per flight during 2024, which has been adjusted to 1.56 during the post-ops adjustment process, thus not achieving the local target value of 0.27. Delays in Germany decreased by 0.35 minutes per flight year-on-year.
▪ Delays were highest between May and September, mostly driven by ATC Capacity issues and adverse weather conditions.
▪ The share of delayed flights with delays longer than 15 minutes in Germany increased by 3 percentage points compared to 2023 and was higher than 2019 values.
▪ The average number of IFR movements was 10% below 2019 levels in Germany in 2024.
▪ The number of ATCOs in OPS is 205, being below the 2024 plan in Bremen by 63 FTEs. The number of ATCOs in OPS is 372, being below the 2024 plan in Langen by 75 FTEs. The number of ATCOs in OPS is 416, being below the 2024 plan in Karlsruhe by 69 FTEs. The number of ATCOs in OPS is 228, being below the 2024 plan in Munich by 58 FTEs.
▪ The yearly total of sector opening hours in Munich ACC was 100,442, showing a 2.9% decrease compared to 2023. Sector opening hours are 3.4% above 2019 levels. The yearly total of sector opening hours in Bremen ACC was 82,760, showing a 0.3% decrease compared to 2023. Sector opening hours are 20.3% below 2019 levels. The yearly total of sector opening hours in Langen ACC was 120,451, showing a 1.4% decrease compared to 2023. Sector opening hours are 9.0% below 2019 levels. The yearly total of sector opening hours in Karlsruhe ACC was 141,204, showing a 0.2% decrease compared to 2023. Sector opening hours are 2.5% below 2019 levels.
▪ Karlsruhe ACC registered 13.11 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2024, being 3.7% above 2019 levels. Bremen ACC registered 6.09 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2024, being 3.8% below 2019 levels. Langen ACC registered 9.28 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2024, being 8.1% below 2019 levels. Munich ACC registered 9.79 IFR movements per one sector opening hour in 2024, being 20.8% below 2019 levels.
▪ Despite the significant improvement in 2024 compared to 2023, Germany still has a capacity gap. Germany should further expedite the re-cruitment and training of controllers. Actual 2025 values up to August show a further im-provement.
▪ Germany registered an average airport arrival ATFM delay of 0.46 minutes per flight in 2024, thus not achieving the local target of 0.45 minutes.
▪ Compared to 2023, average arrival ATFM delays in Germany were 15% lower in 2024, while the number of IFR arrivals increased by 4%.
▪ The main drivers of delays were weather, accounting for 73% of total delays, and other, non-ATC related causes, responsible for 22%.
Cost-efficiency (En route/Terminal charging zone(s))
▪ The en route 2024 actual unit cost of Germany was 60.20€2017, +0.5% higher than the determined unit cost (59.89€2017). The terminal 2024 actual unit cost was 224.09€2017, +12% higher than the determined unit cost (199.79€2017).
▪ The en route 2024 actual service units (14.3M) were -9.7% lower than the determined service units (15.9M).
▪ The en route 2024 actual total costs were -87M€2017 (-9.2%) lower than determined. The difference is mainly driven by the staff costs of DFS (-64M€2017, or -11%). However, in nominal terms, the actual staff costs showed an increase of +15M€2017 (+2.2%). According to the NSA, this is mainly attributable to collective wage settlements and necessity to increase capacity provisions.
▪ DFS costs of investments were 93M€2017 in 2024 for both en route and terminal charging zones, -24% less than determined (122M€2017). According to the NSA, this reduction was a result of a significantly lower actual cost of capital (-63%), which is largely due to lower interest rates, affected by the pension scheme’s interest balance and the ANSP’s net interest income . The NSA stated that this gap will be considered in the unit rates for the following reference period. In addition, depreciation costs were lower than planned (-22%). The NSA attributed this difference to the decision not to implement the new iCAS system in Langen ACC.
▪ The en route actual unit cost incurred by users in 2024 was 75.99€ (+17% above the 2024 DUC), while the terminal actual unit cost incurred by users was 254.29€ (+17% above the 2024 DUC). The difference between the AUCU and the DUC for both charging zones is primarily attributable to the inflation adjustment and lower than planned SUs.