2013-02-06 14:08:19 -

skyguide /
Review of 2012: very good punctuality record at skyguide with a reduced volume 
of traffic 
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Geneva, 6 February 2013. In 2012, skyguide once again produced very good
punctuality figures. Overall, the Swiss air navigation service provider handled
96.7% of its flights without delays. The volume of air traffic in the airspace
managed by skyguide fell by 1.8% as a result of the ongoing economic crisis in
Europe. Air traffic at Geneva airport increased by 2.6%, while at Zurich airport
it fell by 2.6%.

Punctuality remains consistently high
In 2012, 96.7% of the flights managed by the Swiss air navigation service
provider were on schedule. In the case of overflights,   the delays caused by air
traffic control amounted to only 0.13 minutes on average per flight (a fall of
34%). Skyguide's delay figures for overflights are significantly below the
benchmark set by Eurocontrol for achieving the FABEC performance target.
This is the result of targeted investment in increasing capacity, including the
reorganisation of the airspace, the introduction of special planning systems and
more intensive training for air traffic controllers. The fact that the volume of
air traffic was lower than forecast also had a positive effect on punctuality.

Weather and airport capacity cause delays
By contrast, in the airports the delays were largely due to adverse weather
conditions. However, skyguide was easily able to meet its strategic punctuality
targets. In Geneva, the average airport delay was 0.68 minutes per take-off or
landing and 41% of the delays were caused by bad weather. The average airport
delay in Zurich was 1.3 minutes and around one third of the delays were due to
poor weather and one third to airport capacity.

Lower volume of traffic: Slight growth only in the low-cost segment
The poor economic climate in Europe resulted in a lower volume of traffic. In
2012, skyguide handled 1.17 million instrument flights (down by 1.8% compared
with the previous year's figure of 1.19 million). In the case of en route air
traffic, in other words, the flights which pass through Swiss airspace without
taking off or landing in Switzerland, the fall was particularly noticeable (-
3.2%). Only the low-cost segment saw a slight increase in flights compared with
the previous year (+0.6%). The volume of traffic for traditional airlines,
business travel and freight fell significantly (-2.2%, -5.7% and -6.2%
respectively).

Instrument flights[1] in 2012:

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                               2012        2011   Change |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Instrument flights                       1,171,556   1,192,940   - 1.8% |
|                                                                         |
|   of which overflights                     690,253     712,830   - 3.2% |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+


On average, skyguide handled 3229 flights every day in 2012. The busiest day of
the year was 15 June with 3980 flights. The year with the highest average of
3387 flights per day was 2008. The largest number of flights handled on one day
was 4153 on 27 June 2008.

Fall in traffic in line with trend
The reduction in air traffic of 1.8% recorded by skyguide corresponds with the
European trend. Although passenger demand in Switzerland increased slightly, the
airlines did not provide additional aircraft. Instead they improved their
capacity usage and were able to compensate to a certain extent for the increased
price of kerosene. However, the aviation industry remains in a very difficult
economic situation. Around 60 airlines filed for bankruptcy around the world, of
which 10 are based in Europe and one in Switzerland.

[1] Flights under instrument flight rules (IFR) take place in controlled
airspace and make use of air navigation services.

skyguide
swiss air navigation services ltd
media relations
CH-1215 Geneva 15

  Contact:

  phone:      +41 22 417 40 08

  e-mail:     presse@skyguide.ch

  internet:   www.skyguide.ch



Skyguide is responsible for providing air navigation services in Switzerland and
in parts of neighbouring countries. It has 1400 employees working in 14
different locations and safely and efficiently guides around 3200 civil and
military flights a day, or 1.2 million a year, through the busiest and most
complex airspace in Europe. Skyguide focuses on continuous improvement, targeted
innovation and creative cooperation. Together with its partner organisations in
Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, the company forms part
of the FABEC alliance, which is responsible for managing Central Europe's
airspace. Skyguide is a non-profit limited company which has its head office in
Geneva. It is majority-owned by the Swiss Confederation.

The media release can be downloaded from the following link:

Media release (PDF): 
 hugin.info/134388/R/1675982/546074.pdf



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Source: skyguide via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1675982]