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Langen, 5 August 2005 Air traffic volume still climbing - High safety level maintained Air traffic over Germany strongly increased again in the first six months of 2005. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH recorded 1.65 million flights in the first half of the year, representing a 6.2 % increase over the same period in 2004. Traffic in Germany is thus about to reach an all-time high with over three million flights controlled in a year. There were no aircraft proximities registered in the first quarter of 2005. No data is available yet for the second quarter of the year. In 2004, a total of six aircraft proximities (AIRPROX) were noted, three of which were caused by the air navigation services. The number of aircraft proximities is a good indicator of the level of air safety. They are assessed by an independent board called APEG (Aircraft Proximity Evaluation Group) by order of the Federal Ministry of Transport. In addition, DFS itself assesses the so-called infringements of separation. An infringement of separation occurs whenever the applicable separation minima between two or more aircraft is violated. The separation minima are intentionally set high so that an infringement thereof will not necessarily result in a dangerous aircraft proximity. Up until now, such incidents have been evaluated manually. DFS has introduced a two-step collision alert system which automatically records all infringements of separation minima, regardless of size. Since this system was introduced, more incidents have been registered. This electronic system is part of the DFS safety concept which aims to even further improve the monitoring of adherence to separation minima, while handling an ever increasing volume of traffic. In 2004, 186 infringements were recorded throughout Germany, of which two thirds were caused by the air navigation services and one third by pilots. In the first half of 2005, 116 incidents were counted, of which again two thirds were caused by the air navigation services and one third by pilots. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH is a State-owned company under private law and has 5,200 employees. DFS ensures the safe and punctual handling of flights. Staff coordinate around 10,000 aircraft movements in German airspace every day, and more than three million movements every year. With this large number of flights, Germany has the highest traffic volume in Europe. DFS operates control centres in Langen, Bremen, Karlsruhe and Munich. In addition, DFS is represented in the Eurocontrol Centre in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and in the control towers of the 16 international German airports. DFS provides training and consultancy services around the world and develops and sells air traffic control, surveillance and navigation systems. The company's portfolio also comprises flight-relevant data, aeronautical publications and aeronautical information services. DFS has the following business units: Control Centre, Tower, Aeronautical Solutions and Aeronautical Information Management.
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