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Langen, 4 March 2008 Requirements are rising - DFS presents Mobility Report 2007 Germany is not only the State with the most air traffic in Europe, it is also one of the most punctual. This – and other facts – are revealed in the DFS Mobility Report 2007 presented by DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung in Langen on Tuesday. In 2007, DFS air traffic controllers for the first time ever guided more than 3 million flights through German airspace – a total of 3.12 million. This means that the number of aircraft movements has more than doubled over the past 20 years. In 2007, 96.3 per cent of all flights reached their destination without any delays caused by air traffic control. "This figure is not quite as good as last year's, but still an excellent result compared to other countries", said Dieter Kaden, CEO of DFS. And it is a significant improvement over a few years ago: In 2000, the punctuality figure of DFS was around 90 per cent. In Europe, 12 per cent of delays were caused by the air navigation service providers (ANSPs). In contrast, the German ANSP was only responsible for four per cent of delays of domestic flights, i.e. flights that are only under the control of DFS. More than half of all delays in Germany (56 per cent) were caused by the airlines, 16 per cent were brought about by poor weather conditions and 15 per cent by the airports. Eight per cent of all delays – double the European average – were caused by the security measures at German airports. Mr Kaden took this opportunity to point out the DFS contribution to environmental protection. "Deviations from the planned route due to re-routings and holdings only amount to one per cent of the overall route", Kaden confirmed. And only eight per cent of flights in German airspace deviated from the ideal line of flight, which is the shortest connection between two points. "This means that 92 per cent of all flights comply with the ideal line. In upper airspace, this figure is even as high as 97 per cent." The safety level in German airspace continues to be very high. This can be seen from the number of aircraft proximities which is examined and evaluated by an independent group of experts called Aircraft Proximity Evaluation Group (APEG). When DFS for the first time controlled more than two million aircraft movements in 1995, there were 23 aircraft proximities. But while the number of aircraft movements has increased by more than a million since then, the number of so-called airproxes has decreased significantly. Since 2003, the number of aircraft proximities has not exceeded eight. In 2007, there were six aircraft proximities (2006: 2). Three of them (2006: 2) were classified as category B "safety not assured" and caused by DFS. The other three, during which, according to the APEG, there was an immediate risk of collision (2006: 0), were caused by other parties. The DFS subsidiary The Tower Company was responsible for one of them. "Of course we are unhappy that we were not able to repeat last year's record", says Kaden. "But that's the problem with records. Eventually it becomes very difficult to beat them." A trend that continued in 2007 was that more and more aircraft fly across Germany without landing there. While the share of overflights increased to 34.8 per cent (2006: 34.3 per cent), the share of domestic flights continued to decline: It only amounted to 13.6 per cent of all air traffic (2006: 14.2 per cent). In absolute figures, though, the number of domestic flights finally rose again, but only slightly (0.4 per cent). With regard to traffic flows, there has been a shift towards Eastern Europe as well as the Middle and Far East. Poland, for example, moved up to rank ten in the list of the ten most popular foreign destinations (up from rank 13 in 2000). The Russian Federation is in eleventh place (2001: 15). And some countries such as the United Arab Emirates, China and India have been recording three-digit growth rates since the turn of the millennium. The traffic mix also changed. In 2007, the share of low-cost carriers in overall traffic climbed to 22.5 per cent (2006: 19.1), compared with less than 5 per cent in 2001. Percentage-wise, the smaller regional airports, whose main customers are low-cost carriers, benefit the most from this development. Nevertheless, most low-cost flights use international airports. In 2007, Cologne/Bonn, Munich and Berlin-Tegel recorded the most budget flights. In the light of the traffic growth, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung will increase the number of air traffic controllers in operations over the next years. For the first time ever, DFS is looking for fully qualified air traffic controllers in addition to applicants to be trained as controllers. It has already received more than 160 applications from all over the world. "When the air traffic volume grows, the requirements of the air navigation services also rise", says Kaden. "And I am proud to announce that we at DFS are able to meet these requirements." 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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