Belgocontrol statistics: November 2013 movements

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sn26567
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Belgocontrol statistics: November 2013 movements

Post by sn26567 »

In November 2013 Belgocontrol managed a total of 74,025 movements, or a 4.09% decrease (3,164 movements) compared to the same month of the previous year (77,189 movements). The cause of this overall sharp decrease lies mainly in the results of Brussels Airport and the regional airports. Traffic levels controlled by the CANAC 2 air traffic control centre (overflight and approach traffic) remain relatively stable, although they are slightly waning.

In the zone of the 39 Eurocontrol member states, total traffic registered a small 0.3% decline compared to November 2012. The air traffic situation in Europe as in Belgium remains unchanged in comparison to that of the previous months. The east of Europe can still present growing traffic figures, which exerts a positive influence over traffic in the upper airspace of Western European countries. However, traffic statistics in the lower airspace and at the main airports of these same countries are going downhill.

Belgium suffered a marked decline in traffic figures, especially at Brussels Airport, because of the pilot strike of Brussels Airlines, the airline company with the highest activity level at this airport, last 18 and 19 November.

Total traffic managed by Belgocontrol in November 2013 (74,025 movements) eroded by 20% compared to November 2007 (92,177 movements) before the outbreak of the financial and economic crisis. Ever since, air traffic was not able to pick up the pace.

Brussels Airport
16,503 movements were registered at Brussels Airport in November 2013. The 4.83% loss in traffic volume is quite sizeable for November 2013. Those stooping figures were caused by passenger and mixed traffic (passengers and cargo), which represents almost 87 % of total traffic at the airport and which shrunk by 5.3%. Cargo traffic, on the other hand, was up for the second time this year by 4.04%. The impact of the Brussels Airlines strike actions, although noticeable, has to be put into perspective. The result of Brussels Airport would not have been positive, even if the some 200 cancelled flights during the two-day strike had actually taken off. While the passenger rate rose by 0.6%, the number of movements at Brussels Airport remains at a historic low; we have to go back to 1992 to find a worse result.

5 of the top 10 airports in the zone grouping the 39 EUROCONTROL member states registered lower statistics in November 2013. There are 9 FABEC airports in the European top 20, of which Brussels Airports holds the 18th place in this list based on the number of departures. On average, traffic levels of those 9 airports decreased by 2.1% in November 2013, confirming the tendency that traffic departing from and landing at the main Western European airports is decreasing, while overflight traffic figures, benefiting from the growing traffic segment in Eastern Europe, proved rather steady.

Air traffic controlled by CANAC 2
The CANAC 2 centre manages all movements in the controlled civil airspace above Belgium,
from ground level to flight level 245 and above the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, between
flight levels 145/165 (since 10 March 2011) and 245.

CANAC 2 controlled 39,724 movements in November 2013, or a 0.5% decrease compared to November 2012 (39,923).

In November 2013, the 14 FABEC control centres show an almost static average progress (-0.3%) in comparison with November 2012.

The regional airports
In November 2013 the four regional airports collectively recorded a total of 17,798 movements. Compared to the 19,926 movements of November 2012, this resulted in a sharp 10.7% decrease. This traffic drop was again due to VFR traffic (general aviation) which lost 25.34%. Overall IFR traffic (commercial aviation) was up by 2.44% (10,770 movements) and was on the rise at Charleroi (+2.73% or 4,335 movements) and at Ostend (+40.87% or 1,789 movements). This type of traffic did not do well at Antwerp and Liege, which is reflected in their respective statistics: -10.32% (1,555 movements) and -6% (3,091 movements).

The VFR traffic volume decreased in all regional airports. Traffic figures suffered slightly at Ostend (-5.32% or 2,047 movements) and Antwerp (-9.83% or 2,366 movements), but they really took a nosedive at Charleroi (-22.15% or 1,680 movements) and Liege (-62.13% or 935 movements).

Regarding the total number of movements (IFR + VFR), Charleroi remained the regional airport that boasts the most activity (6,015 movements or -5.69%), followed by Liege (4,026 movements or -30.08%), Antwerp (3,921 movements or -10.03%) and Ostend (3,836 movements or +11.77%).

Belgocontrol 24 December 2013
André
ex Sabena #26567

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