ENAIRE recovered 92.3% of flights in April compared to the record levels of 2019

The trend continues as air traffic recovers to pre-pandemic levels. ENAIRE managed nearly 170,000 flights (169,157) in April (which includes Holy Week), which is just 7.7% below the average for the entire network for the same month in 2019, a record year for traffic before the effects of COVID took hold in 2020.

This figure means that ENAIRE, the national air navigation service provider, recovered 92.3% of flights in April compared to 2019 levels, which is 5.9 points higher that the percentage recovered in March 2022 (86.4%).

This recovery in the number of flights in Spain is over 10 percentage points higher (10.4%) than the average recorded throughout Europe, which saw a decrease in April of 18.1% with respect to 2019.

A comparison between the flights managed by ENAIRE in April 2022 and those in the same period in 2021 shows an increase of 230.3%.

Domestic flights in April 2022 (34,616) exhibited the best trend, with a drop of 3.3% with respect to the same month in 2019, equivalent to recovering 96.7% of the flights compared to the same month in that year. International flights (98,312) went down by 7.9% compared to 2019, and overflights (those that do not depart from or land at a Spanish airport) fell by 11.3% to 36,229.

There was a notable increase in the number of flights managed by the Palma control centre, almost 10% more (9.8%) than in April 2019 with 29,056 flights. More flights were also managed in the control centres of Seville (37,366, 0.6% more) and the Canary Islands (29,975, 0.2% more). The Barcelona centre managed 78,779 flights, 5.3% fewer, and Madrid, 93,513, 8.8% fewer.

Cumulative data for 2022

In the first four months of the year, ENAIRE managed 513,907 flights, 16.9% fewer than in the same period in 2019, of which 286,028 were international (-16.9%), 118,599 were domestic (-11.7%) and 109,280 (-22.0%) were overflights.

A comparison of the flights managed by ENAIRE in the first four months with those in the same period in 2021 shows an increase of 195.5%.

2022-2023 Summer Plan

For the high air traffic seasons (summer in mainland Spain and Balearic Islands and winter in the Canary Islands) in 2022 and 2023, ENAIRE has an ambitious action plan involving technical, operational and airspace restructuring projects, its so-called "2022-2023 Summer Plan", which is based on the ENAIRE strategy defined in its 2025 Flight Plan and is part of a framework of work and collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, Aena and air carriers and associations.

In light of the continuing upward trend in air traffic, the 2022-2023 Summer Plan includes the national and international technical, operational and human resources measures needed to achieve the best possible safety, efficiency, speed, service quality and sustainability rates.

This requires the implementation of unrestricted routes so that airlines can fly on optimised, phased trajectories in 2022 and 2023-2024; new tools for flow control and dynamic airspace sectors.

ENAIRE lowers its charges to help the sector

ENAIRE drastically reduced its air navigation charges in 2021 to speed the recovery of the aviation sector.

Of the 38 countries in EUROCONTROL, Spain, through ENAIRE, is the one that lowered its route charges the most in 2021, to around 8% below the average charge.

ENAIRE reduced its continental route charge in 2020 (-16.7%) and 2021 (-11%) by 26%, and in the Canary Islands (-12.5% /-8.5%, respectively) by 20%, thus helping the aviation sector to recover from the crisis brought about by the pandemic.

Moreover, until 2024, air navigation charges will remain below 2019 levels, a year in which ENAIRE was already operating with the lowest charges in the last ten years, and which were among the most competitive in Europe. As a result, the continental charges in 2022 will be 19.4% lower than in 2019, and in the Canary Islands they will be lowered by 14.4%.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.

As a company of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, it provides en route control services for all flights and overflights from five control centres in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Gran Canaria and Palma, as well as approach services to every airport in the country.

In addition, 45 control towers receive ENAIRE's communication, navigation and surveillance services, and 21 airports, including the country's busiest, rely on its aerodrome control services.

ENAIRE is Europe's fourth largest air traffic manager. Since 1 January 2022, it has chaired the A6 Alliance, a coalition of air navigation providers responsible for over 80% of European air traffic, and which is seeking to modernise the air traffic management system. It is also a member of other international alliances promoting the Single European sky, such as SESAR Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO and ICAO.

ENAIRE has received the highest score in Europe on the aviation safety key performance indicator. It has also been awarded the EFQM 500 Seal for its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.