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Langen, 5 March 2007 2006 – A record-breaking year Safe, punctual and ecological Germany still has the busiest airspace of all countries in Europe. This was illustrated by the traffic figures in the new Mobility Report presented today by DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH in Langen, near Frankfurt. In 2006, DFS air traffic controllers handled 2.98 million flights safely and punctually in German airspace, compared to 2.87 million flights in 2005. Even the busiest day in the history of the air navigation services was recorded in 2006. On 10 July, the day after the World Cup final in Germany, more than 10,000 flights were controlled by DFS. However, DFS CEO Dieter Kaden emphasised that these figures are only relevant when viewed in connection with safety and punctuality. He proudly announced that, as in previous years, there was only a small number of aircraft proximities. The independent Aircraft Proximity Evaluation Group ** recorded as few as two aircraft proximities, both of which were assigned to category B* "safety not assured" (one aircraft proximity in 2005). DFS staff was a causative factor in one of these cases. However, no cases had yet been reported in category A* "immediate risk of collision" in 2006. In 2005, two cases were determined in this category. At the moment, one incident is being investigated and the result is expected in a few weeks. Mr Kaden presented figures that confirmed the excellent punctuality record of DFS in the past year. Ninety-seven per cent of all flights reached their destinations without any delays caused by air traffic control. This performance was by far the best in Europe, where the average delay per flight was two minutes. In Germany, every flight had an average delay of only 38 seconds, with DFS having caused only 4.2 seconds of this delay. According to the DFS CEO, half of all of the delays in Germany were caused by the airlines (in Europe: 55 per cent), while 17 per cent were caused by the airport infrastructure (Europe: 10 per cent) and 15 per cent by weather conditions. Mr Kaden underlined the company’s endeavours to protect the environment: 99 per cent of the flights handled by DFS reached their destinations via direct routes and without any holding procedures. DFS is well prepared for the European Single European Sky project. To this end, DFS is currently working together with France, the Benelux States, Switzerland and the EUROCONTROL centre in Maastricht to optimise traffic flows and to create an optimal airspace structure. Given its central location, more and more aircraft are flying over Germany without taking off or landing here – this shows just how important international partnerships are. In the past year alone, there were one million of these overflights, accounting for 34 per cent of overall traffic – and this number is growing. The number of domestic flights in Germany is on the decline and only amounted to 14 per cent. At Germany’s largest international airport, the number of aircraft movements slightly dropped following the withdrawal of the US forces. In Frankfurt, there were 489,000 arrivals and departures, i.e. a decrease of 1.3 per cent over 2005. With 408,000 aircraft movements, Munich is number two in Germany, followed by the three Berlin airports, then Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart. In terms of the regional airports, Hahn ranked first with 34,000 arrivals and departures (+24 per cent), followed by Dortmund with 28,000 (+9.2 per cent) and Paderborn with 20,000 (- 3.7 per cent). *Categories of aircraft proximities: Category A: Risk of collision; an aircraft proximity in which serious risk of collision has existed. Category B: Safety not assured; an aircraft proximity in which the safety of the aircraft may have been compromised and a pilot or air traffic controller had to intervene. ** APEG: APEG is a group of experts which is commissioned by the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs and comprises representatives of airlines, the German Air Force, general aviation, the German Airline Pilots' Association and air navigation services. 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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