Network Manager Annual Report 2021

In many areas, 2021 was not a year we could ever have predicted. It was a recovery year with volatility and additional complexity caused by COVID waves, crises and flight bans in Ukraine, Belarus, Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean.

Throughout the year, the network manager (NM) and operational stakeholders led the coordinated response to each situation as it occurred, facilitating optimal trajectories, and ensuring close to zero air traffic flow management (ATFM) delay. This collaboration and joining of efforts to implement green aviation measures such as suspending route restrictions, implementing modern flight planning tools, addressing enhanced vertical and lateral flight profiles was essential to making the European network as resilient as possible.

Throughout the year, the NM and governing bodies worked on various axes to improve and maintain the European Network:

• The CNS monitoring functions and Operational Excellence Programme;
• Co-operative decision-making, including by the network directors of operations & technology (NDOP/NDTECH);
• Setting up of the Enlarged NDOP coordination Cell;
• Commencement of the integrated Network Manager (iNM) project.

The NM Annual Report for 2021 covers the topics above and also provides information about Budgetary matters, investment, expenditure and revenues, network performance and the activities of the NM per function, including network:

• monitoring, reporting and infrastructure sharing, 
• planning,
• operations,
• crisis management,
• interference and
• safety, scarce resources management.

You can also find information about network strategic planning and challenges for the future.