Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on EUROCONTROL
Can I visit EUROCONTROL?
We do not run individual visits, but can make arrangements for special groups, such as university students. All visits are arranged by our Corporate Communications Unit.
EUROCONTROL is present in 4 European cities:
- Brussels is home to our headquarters, the Central Flow Management Unit and the Route Charges Office
- Brétigny in France welcomes an Experimental Centre
- Luxembourg welcomes future air traffic controllers and trainees in air traffic management at our Training Institute
- Maastricht in the Netherlands is host to our Air traffic control centre, handling aircraft above 24,500 feet over Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and North-western Germany.
Does EUROCONTROL have anything to do with the Euro (€) currency?
EUROCONTROL has nothing to do with the Euro currency. EUROCONTROL stands for European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. Its name comes from its original mission which was to organise air traffic control collectively in the upper airspace of its Member States.
Is EUROCONTROL part of the EU institutions?
EUROCONTROL is not part of the EU institutions. It is an international organisation with 39 Member States. The European Community became a member of EUROCONTROL on 8 October 2002.
What does EUROCONTROL do?
EUROCONTROL provides air traffic management (ATM) expertise and services to its 39 Member States, aviation partners, as well as European and international institutions.
To do this, the EUROCONTROL Agency:
- develops and coordinates the implementation of pan-European ATM programmes
- operates a central flow management unit which matches the air traffic demand with the available capacity, keeping delays to a minimum
- collects route charges through its central route charges office on behalf of its Member States
- contributes to the development of new technologies and procedures as a founding member of SESAR Joint Undertaking
- operates an international air traffic control centre at Maastricht, which handles air traffic in the core area of Europe (Belgium, Luxembourg, northern Germany and the Netherlands).
What is EUROCONTROL?
EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, is an international organisation with 39 European Member States. It was created in 1960 and became active in 1963, with the intention of creating a single European upper airspace.
EUROCONTROL supports its Member States to achieve safe, efficient and environmentally-friendly air traffic operations across the whole of the European region. Our organisation is committed to building, together with its partners, a Single European Sky, that will deliver the air traffic management (ATM) performance for the twenty-first century and beyond.
What is the EUROCONTROL reorganisation?
The European ATM environment is undergoing significant changes. In order to improve the way it meets the needs of all its 39 Member States and to contribute more actively to the successful delivery of the Single European Sky, EUROCONTROL has reorganised its activities around five main functions.
- SESAR & Research: delivering EUROCONTROL's contribution to the SESAR programme and ATM validation and simulation exercises.
- Single Sky: delivering the Agency's contribution to the implementation of the Single European Sky.
- Network management: coordinating network management functions to ensure the optimal management of the European ATM network.
- Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre: providing air traffic services in the upper airspace of Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the north west of Germany.
- Route Charges Directorate: operates, maintains and develops the Multilateral Route Charges System on behalf of the Member States.
These five functions are coordinated by the Principal Director ATM, Bo Redeborn. The corporate processes that support the new organisational structure are managed by the Directorate of Resources, headed by Alberto Varano, Principal Director Resources.
What kind of jobs are available at EUROCONTROL?
EUROCONTROL offers excellent job opportunities for highly motivated individuals able to respond flexibly to the changing requirements of the aviation world.
Although most of jobs opportunities at EUROCONTROL are air traffic control and air traffic management-related, our organisation also hosts an administrative infrastructure to support its technical activities.
Acoording to the organisation’s needs, we also offer traineeship positions to undergraduate, graduate and PhD students.
We are interested to welcome skilled individuals who have acquired a valuable range of expertise in the following areas:
- air traffic management (ATM) and air navigation
- research & development
- technical services
- administrative and financial support
- human resources
Who are EUROCONTROL’s stakeholders?
EUROCONTROL cooperates closely with seven categories of partners, at European level and also beyond:
- air navigation service providers of its Member States
- civil and military airspace users (airlines, pilots, aircraft operators and passengers)
- airports
- the aerospace industry (manufacturers of aircraft, aviation electronics and air traffic management infrastructure)
- professional organisations
- intergovernmental organisations
- the European institutions.
How many flights are handled daily over Europe?
On average, about 26,000 flights are handled daily over Europe. Peak traffic demand in excess of 31,000 flights was recorded five times during 2009, with 26 June 2009 as the busiest day (31,434 flights). In 2010, there were just under 9.5 million flights in the European area.
What are the air traffic growth forecasts over Europe for the next decade?
The air traffic is expected to grow by 5% each year until 2020. After an air traffic decrease in Europe (6.2% in 2009 against 2008) and a serious slump due to the ash cloud crisis (11%), in April 2010, air traffic is expected to grow, as soon as the recession comes to an end.
As a result, EUROCONTROL expects that the number of flights in Europe will rise from today’s 10 million to 20.4 million in 2030.
What is air traffic management?
Air traffic management (ATM) is about the process, procedures and resources which come into play to make sure that aicraft are safely guided in the skies and on the ground. It comprises three complementary systems:
• The air traffic control (ATC) system, in charge of real-time control of air traffic.
• The air traffic flow and capacity management (ATFCM) system, which anticipates air traffic flows in order to prevent congestion. In Europe traffic flows are centrally managed by the EUROCONTROL Flow Management Unit.
• The airspace management, comprising airspace design and modelling, which develops a more rational route network so that flights can go to their destination more directly and save fuel.
The complementary management of these three systems helps to increase the number of flights handled by air traffic control, while maintaining the highest levels of safety across the network.
Air traffic management in Europe is the joint responsibility of:
- European Member States
- the aviation industry
- the European institutions
- EUROCONTROL.
What is the air safety record in Europe?
Europe's air safety record is one of the best in the world.
In order to further improve safety, the European Commission and aviation safety authorities have banned airlines which do not meet essential safety requirements from operating in European airspace.
Aircraft operators banned from operating in Europe
What is the Single European Sky?
The Single European Sky (SES) is an ambitious initiative, launched by the European Commission in 1999, to reform the architecture of European air traffic management (ATM). It puts forward a legislative approach to meet future capacity and safety needs at a European, rather than at local level. Its implementation will increase the overall efficiency of the European air transport system.
The Single European Sky ATM Research Programme (SESAR) is a joint venture associating EUROCONTROL, the European Commission and the aviation industry. SESAR aims at developing the new generation air traffic management system capable of ensuring the safety and fluidity of air transport worldwide over the next 30 years.
Where can I find statistics on flights in Europe?
At EUROCONTROL statistics are produced by our Statistics and Forecasts Service, also known as STATFOR.
STATFOR not only provides air traffic statistics and forecasts related to our Member States, but to air traffic in Europe, whilst monitoring and analysing the evolution of the air transport industry as a whole.
How can I get information on EUROCONTROL programmes, projects, services and products?
Please visit the related sections of our website:
What services does EUROCONTROL provide to the aviation community?
EUROCONTROL provides a range of services to the aviation community including:
- development and coordination of the implementation of European air traffic management (ATM) programmes
- air traffic flow and capacity management
- collection of air navigation charges
- regional control of airspace
- development of new ATM technologies and procedures
- air traffic management training.
Find more about our:
Can I get flight information from EUROCONTROL?
No. Although all the "flight plans" for all flights in Europe are processed by us and used for the calculation of departure slots, this information is not accessible by the general public.
We can only advise you to contact your airline, or your departure or destination airport.
Find here updated information about air traffic management (ATM) operations in Europe.
What services does EUROCONTROL provide to passengers?
EUROCONTROL does not provide any services directly to passengers. We deliver air traffic management services to the aviation community in the largest sense.
We do however provide information to our aviation partners that can be of interest to passengers, such as air traffic growth and delay figures and forecasts. Passengers can also keep an eye on the overall air traffic situation and get up-to-date information on delays and airports status across Europe, via our social media channels - Facebook or Twitter.
We are also active in reducing European aviation’s footprint on the environment. This is important to ensure that the carbon footprint of passengers remains as low as possible.