Eurocontrol: European aviation network may see capacity gap of 160m pax by 2040

Eurocontrol published (19-Jun-2018) 'Challenges of Growth', a new report suggesting that without "urgent action", the European aviation network will be unable to cope with the demand for air services by 2040. "European aviation is seeing high levels of delay this year as the network struggles to cope with record levels of traffic", Eurocontrol confirmed. Eurocontrol emphasised:

• The first five months of 2018 have seen much higher delays than in recent years, while traffic increased 3.4% year-on-year;
• En route air traffic flow management (ATFM) delays have "risen dramatically" from 0.46 minutes per flight to 1.05 minutes per movement. 28% of this delay was attributed to disruptive events (such as strikes) and 27% to weather. However, 55% was attributed to staffing/capacity issues, notably in Germany, France and the Low Countries.

Eurocontrol DG Eamonn Brennan highlighted: "Our most likely scenario predicts a growth of 1.9% a year between now and 2040... That means 16.2 million flights a year". The "most likely" scenario suggests movement growth of 53% by 2040, which means there "won't be enough capacity for approximately 1.5 million flights or 160 million passengers in 2040", Mr Brennan emphasised. However, Eurocontrol's high growth scenario could see movements grow as much as 84%. [more - original PR] [more - original PR - II]