For immediate release
21 September 2001

REAL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MIDSUMMER 2001 DELAY SITUATION
 
The midsummer period (May-August) saw a significant improvement in the delay situation in the European Civil Aviation Conference, ECAC, area (comprising 38 States) as compared with the same period in the previous three years.
 
The average Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) delay per flight for the period was 4.3 minutes against 4.6 minutes reported in 2000, 7.1 minutes in 1999 and 5.1 minutes in 1998.
 
The month of August saw the lowest average delay per flight (3.4 minutes) since 1997.
 
This reduction in delays is attributable to the joint efforts made by all European air navigation service providers and EUROCONTROL. The EUROCONTROL Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) and the European air traffic control centres work closely together to identify potential bottlenecks throughout Europe well in advance and provide more airspace capacity where needed.
 
The modest 1.0% traffic growth recorded on 2000 traffic figures, representing a total of 3,052,930 flights over the four summer months, also contributed to the reduction in delays.
 
It should be noted that air traffic control is accountable for approximately 32% of the delays. However, it is not the only cause of delays. Delays in air transport can be attributed to multiple causes: airports, air traffic control, airlines' operations and other causes such as weather.
 
The Director General of EUROCONTROL, Víctor M. Aguado, stated:" These improvements are the outcome of the collective efforts made by the entire European aviation community. They are most welcome particularly at this time when the tragic events that have taken place in the US have had a serious impact on aviation. We do not yet know the level and scope of this impact. Nevertheless, we at EUROCONROL shall spare no efforts in continuing to enhance the capacity and safety of European airspace."