New PRC Performance Insight on the economic impact of COVID-19 on the ANS system

COVID-19 continues to have a huge impact on the aviation industry, not just the airlines and the airports but also the Air Navigation Services (ANS) system that keep the skies safe for all of us. The independent Performance Review Commission (PRC) has prepared a preliminary analysis or “Performance Insight” looking at the impact of this unprecedented crisis on the ANS system and the implications for the future.

This analysis will be presented in more detail in the forthcoming ACE 2019 benchmarking report, using information provided by the 38 ANSPs (Air Navigation Service Providers) participating in the ACE project.

Just in 2020, European ANS lost over €5 billion in revenue as a result of the decrease in flights and, even for the flights that did take place, it deferred some payments in order to help out the airline industry. This fall in income was nearly twice as much as the cash reserves held before the pandemic.

As a result, ANSPs have sought state aid and loans (in part through a facility negotiated by EUROCONTROL) and have worked hard to contain their costs. The Performance Insight looks in detail at what measures have been taken and how the finances of the ANS system can be restored, bearing in mind the need to safeguard the ability of the system to deploy capacity in the future as traffic recovers.

As part of its 2021 work programme, the PRC will continue to monitor the financial situation of ANSPs and build on this initial analysis to introduce new indicators in its future reports.

Files

Preliminary impacts of COVID-19 on the ANS industry