Europe’s air traffic control system is handled by its air navigation service providers (ANSPs), and their safety-critical work is funded by the users of the airspace by paying Route Charges – a fee for all the airspace each flight passes through, and which are used to finance essential elements of air navigation services (ANS) – from highly trained controllers to complex technologies and infrastructure investments..
Our new corporate “ANS explained” video outlines how the Route Charges system works, and how EUROCONTROL plays a central role in it through its Central Route Charges Office (CRCO) by efficiently collecting Route Charges on behalf of the 41 Member States & three non-Member States that use this service, and then distributing them expertly, transparently and efficiently to these participating States.
In 2025 alone, the CRCO collected and distributed €13.2 billion in Route Charges generated by 11.1 million flights performed by 6.7K aircraft operators – monies that play a fundamental role in financing the European aviation system.
