DFS, the German air navigation service provider, has implemented a major modernisation project on schedule: Together with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), four older CVOR radio navigation aids were replaced with DVOR systems, which are less susceptible to interference. These navigation aids are less sensitive to interference from wind turbines, which facilitates the further expansion of wind energy in Germany.
Exposed locations such as hilltops or elevations as well as open spaces offer ideal conditions for technical air navigation services facilities for communication, navigation and surveillance. Wind turbines benefit from the same geographic conditions and can sometimes interfere with these facilities.
Following technical and operational approval, all of the more robust DVOR navigation aids are now in operation in Nürnberg, Cologne Bonn, Düsseldorf and Nienburg. No further conversion is required for the Frankfurt, Rügen and Magdeburg facilities. The VOR components there have been switched off and DME (distance measuring equipment) systems, which are less susceptible to interference, are in operation instead.
The renewal of the four navigation facilities was financed by the BMWE and implemented by DFS in the period from mid-2021 to the end of 2025. The conversion of the facilities at the Nürnberg, Cologne Bonn, Düsseldorf and Nienburg sites was completed on schedule.
In detail:
Radio navigation aids are ground stations that enable aircraft to navigate using radio signals. They also include VORs. Aircraft receivers process the VOR signals for use as directional information. There are conventional VOR and Doppler VOR facilities (CVOR and DVOR).
You can find more information here:
Wind energy | DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH
Media Contact:
Robert Ertler
Phone +49 (0) 6103) 707-4160
Email: presse@dfs.de
DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, the German air navigation service provider, is a State-owned company under private law with around 5,800 employees as at 31 December 2025. DFS ensures the safe and punctual flow of air traffic over Germany. Around 2,200 air traffic controllers guide more than three million flights through German airspace in peak years, up to 10,000 every day. The company operates control centres in Bremen, Karlsruhe, Langen and Munich as well as control towers at the 15 designated international airports in Germany. The subsidiary DFS Aviation Services GmbH markets and sells products and services related to air navigation services, and provides air traffic control at nine regional airports in Germany and at Edinburgh Airport in the UK. DFS is working on the integration of drones into air traffic and has set up a joint venture, Droniq GmbH, with Deutsche Telekom. Other subsidiaries include R. Eisenschmidt GmbH, which markets publications and products for general aviation, and Kaufbeuren ATM Training GmbH (KAT), which provides training for military air traffic services personnel. The joint venture FCS Flight Calibration Services GmbH offers flight inspection services.