ENAIRE, an entity dependent on the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) in charge of managing air navigation in Spain, managed a cumulative total of 443,942 operations in July and August, which makes an average of 7,160 flights per day.
This record confirms the recovery of the sector in Spain after the stoppage forced by the COVID pandemic in 2020, as well as ENAIRE’s leadership among air navigation service providers in Europe in recent years.
The 2019 record has been surpassed on two occasions in the summer of 2023: on Saturday, July 22, ENAIRE managed 7,449 flights, a historical record, thus surpassing the previous record reached in July 2019, where 7,425 flights were managed in one day. Likewise, on August 12, 7,440 flights were managed, also above the record of 2019.
The data is very relevant because it confirms a trend that allows us to trust that the recovery of the aviation sector is firm and sustained. Based on the number of flights operated in Spain compared to those operated in Europe, it is a recovery that confirms the country as a driver of a key sector for the economy and employment, albeit not for sustainability and the environment, in this case.
In terms of quality of service, delays have been reduced by 17% compared to 2019 and when only the causes of delay attributable to ENAIRE are computed, the reduction increases to 34% in the first 8 months of the year, compared to the data from delay of 2019, which highlights the measures promoted by ENAIRE in its Strategic Plan (Flight Plan 2025) and in its Summer Plan for the 2023 season.
In terms of environmental sustainability, ENAIRE’s commitment to the environment through airspace restructuring measures, flexible airspace management and more direct routes has translated into a reduction of 118,000 nautical miles flown, equivalent to 218,000 kilometres, which translates into 4,000 tons of CO2 not emitted into the atmosphere and 1,300 tons of fuel saved.
The figures accumulated so far this year are very positive. ENAIRE has managed more than 1.4 million flights (1,457,670) in the first eight months, which is 11.8% more than in the same period of 2022.
International flights (823,808) increased 10%; nationals (296,126), 7.9%; and overflights (337,736), those flights that do not have their origin or destination in a Spanish airport, 20.0%.
In these first eight months, all ENAIRE air traffic control centres once again increased the number of flights managed. In figures, those from Seville stand out in the accumulated data, with 327,566 flights managed, 15.8% more; Barcelona, ​​with 694,607, 12.2% more and Madrid, with 789,515, 11.8% more.
In the aviation sector, the 2019 financial year is usually taken as a reference, prior to the stoppage caused by the COVID crisis. Well, the comparison from January to August 2023 with the same period of the record year of 2019 also shows a slightly positive balance for Spain (0.02%), while the whole of Europe would continue to be in air traffic recovery numbers. below 2019 by -9.4%.
Regarding the month of August alone, ENAIRE has managed 220,835 flights. This record represents 6.9% more than in the same month of 2022. Of them, 129,027 were international, 7.1% more; 41,156 national flights, 2.4% more, and 50,652 overflights, 10.3% more. It should be noted that in the five national air traffic control centres the number of flights managed also increased in the month of August.
ENAIRE managed 1.0% more flights in August 2023 than in the same month of 2019, while the European average was 6.6% lower than the European average record for the same month of that year, which is usually taken as a reference in the sector.
The post Record-breaking 7,200 daily flight operations appeared first on Spain Today – Breaking Spanish News, Sport, and Information.
Other Articles
