First half of 2009: substantial decline in traffic volumes and a
record punctuality performance
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Geneva, 16 July 2009. Skyguide managed 561 385 flights in the first
half of 2009, a sizeable 9.5% fewer than for the same period last
year. Switzerland's air navigation service provider also delivered a
record punctuality performance for the period: 98.3% of all flights
were handled on time.
Sizeable traffic declines
Europe's air traffic volumes have been declining since November 2008.
This tendency continues in the first half of 2009: En-route traffic
in the airspace under skyguide's control showed a 10.3% year-on-year
decline for the first-half period, almost exactly in line with the
trends for Europe as a whole. The present economic crisis is also
having an adverse impact on traffic levels at Switzerland's
international airports. First-half traffic at Geneva was down 9.2%,
while Zurich saw a 7.5% decline.
Instrument flights handled in the first half of 2009:
January-June 2009 January-June
2008 08-09
Instrument flights 561 385 620 406 - 9.5%
handled
of which en-route 342 011 381 200 - 10.3%
traffic
Traffic volumes back to 2005 levels
Skyguide monitors traffic trends by recording the numbers of flight
movements in the airspace under its control. Each flight will usually
generate movements for multiple control centres. A breakdown of
first-half movements produces the following results:
January-June
2009 January-June 08-09
2008
Area control centres
Geneva 306 812 347 380 - 11.7%
Zurich 367 389 404 785 - 9.2%
Arrival/Departure
Control
Bern 6 351 6 516 - 2.5%
Donaueschingen 706 738 - 4.3%
Friedrichshafen 8 878 9 225 - 3.8%
Geneva 83 437 91 901 - 9.2%
Grenchen 2 258 2 233 + 1.1%
Les Eplatures 700 863 - 18.9%
Lugano 4 903 5 291 - 7.3%
Sion 2 486 3 115 - 20.2%
St. Gallen Altenrhein 4 854 5 333 - 9.0%
Zurich 121 423 131 247 - 7.5%
The peak traffic day so far in 2009 was 29 May, when skyguide handled
3 737 flights.
Punctuality sees a further substantial improvement
As a result of its own capacity increases and the recent traffic
volume declines, skyguide delivered a strong performance for the
first half of 2009: Skyguide handled 98.3% of its flights punctually.
The total number of delayed flights for the period declined by almost
45%. Skyguide thus recorded half the delays in the first-half period
that it had in 2003 while handling 6% more traffic. A "punctual"
movement is any flight which incurs an air traffic control-related
delay of less than 15 minutes.
A factsheet with more detailed information, tables and charts is
available here:
http://www.skyguide.ch/en/MediaRelations/MediaReleases/ArchivedReleases/1
6_07_2009_Factsheet_Performance_JanJune2009_en.pdf
skyguide
swiss air navigation services ltd
media relations
CH-1215 Geneva 15
contact:
phone: +41 22 417 40 08
e-mail: presse@skyguide.ch
internet: www.skyguide.ch
Skyguide is responsible for providing air navigation services within
Swiss airspace and in the airspace of certain adjoining regions in
neighbouring countries. The company guides the civil and military
aircraft entrusted to its care - almost 3 400 flights a day or 1.24
million a year - through some of the busiest and most complex
airspace in Europe. Skyguide is a non-profit limited company which
has its head office in Geneva. The majority of its shares are held by
the Swiss Confederation. The company generates annual operating
revenue of over CHF 372 million and employs some 1 400 people at 14
locations in Switzerland.
The media release can be downloaded from the following link:
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skyguide
Postfach 1518 Zürich-Flughafen Switzerland
WKN: 1957462;
ISIN: CH0019574620;
Listed: Domestic Bonds in SIX Swiss Exchange;
