Chapter 2 Air Navigation System Characteristics

In general terms, air navigation services are provided in Brazil and Europe with similar operational concepts and procedures, and supporting technology. However, there exists a series of differences between the two regional systems. This section provides a general background on the characteristics of the Brazilian and European air navigation system. These characteristics form an integral part to explain the similarities and differences in the KPIs observed throughout this report.

2.1 Organisation of Air Navigation Services

The key difference between the Brazilian and European air navigation system can be seen in the organisation of ANS in both regions. In Brazil there is one air navigation services provider, while in Europe each member state has assigned the service provision to a national or local provider with the exception of the Maastricht Upper Area Contol Center which is the only multi-national unit.

The Department of Airspace Control (DECEA) is responsible for the management of all the activities related to the safety and efficiency of the Brazilian airspace control. Its mission is to manage and control the air traffic in the Brazilian sovereign airspace as well as to guarantee its defence. In that respect, DECEA operates a fully integrated civil-military system.
The airspace under Brazil’s responsibility is an area of approximately 22 million km² (non-oceanic: 8.5 million NM²) and organised into 5 Flight Information Regions, comprised of 5 ACC, 59 TWR and 43 APP (c.f. Fig. 1.1).

The European airspace spans over an area of 11.5 km². As concerns the provision of air traffic services, the European approach results in a high number of service providers, i.e. there are 37 different en-route ANSPs with varying geographical areas of responsibility. Next to a limited number of cross-border agreements between adjacent airspaces and air traffic service units, air traffic service provision is predominantly organised along state boundaries / FIR borders. Maastricht UAC represents the only multi-national collaboration providing air traffic services in the upper airspace of northern Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The level of civil-military integration varies from country to country in Europe. Within the European context, air traffic flow management (ATFM) and airspace management (ASM) are provided/coordinated centrally through the Network Manager. The design of airspace and related procedures is no longer carried out or implemented in isolation in Europe. Inefficiencies in the design and use of the air route network are considered to be a contributing factor towards flight inefficiencies in Europe. Therefore the development of an integrated European Route Network Design is one of the tasks given to the Network Manager under the European Commission’s Single European Sky initiative. This is done through a CDM process involving all stakeholders. A further task of the Network Manager is to ensure and coordinate that traffic flows do not exceed what can be safely handled by the air traffic service units while trying to optimise the use of available capacity. For this purpose, the Network Manager Operations Centre (NMOC) monitors the air traffic situation and proposes flow measures coordinated through a CDM process with the respective local authorities. This coordination is typically affected with the local flow management position (FMP) in an area control centre. The NMOC implements then the respective flow management initiative on request of the authority/FMP.

As in Europe, in Brazil there is the CGNA (Air Navigation Management Centre), which is an organization subordinated to DECEA that performs the same function as the NMOC. CGNA manages the Brazilian air traffic flow, applies ATFM measures and makes collaborative decisions with the airlines, airports, control and approach centres. In addition, CGNA also coordinates airspace management, the flight plan handling system, the statistical database and all activities related to air navigation. In summary, CGNA provides the operational management of the current actions of the ATM processes and related infrastructure, aiming for the sufficiency and quality of the services provided under the Brazilian Air Space Control System (SISCEAB).

2.2 High-Level System Comparison

Table 2.1 summarises the key characteristics of the Brazilian and European air navigation system. Both regions operate with similar operational concepts and procedures, and supporting technology.
The non-oceanic airspace serviced in Brazil (8.5 million km²) is about 25% smaller in comparison to Europe (11.5 million km²). In Brazil, there is a single ANSP, while in Europe a high number of national and local ANSPs assume responsibilities. Within the en-route environment, there are 37 different ANSPs in Europe compared to a single provider, i.e. DECEA, in Brazil.

Over the years 2011 – 2019, Brazil suffered the biggest recession in recent history, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) falling 3.8% in 2015 and 3.6% in 2016. Unemployment and household debt increased and investment in the economy retracted. Despite the serious economic problems, the air transport demand was maintained at moderately constant levels. While in 2016, air traffic was approximately 1.67 million, it gradually decreased to 1.59 million in 2019.

The European environment saw a steady traffic increase over the period 2013-2019. The positive trend showed a slightly slower rate in 2019. The lower growth rate in 2019 was influenced by the slowing economic growth in Europe and the collapse of several air transport operators. On top, the grounding of the B737 Max fleet impacted the trend in 2019 as well. Stronger variations observed in 2010 through 2013 were linked with economic distortions resulting in sharp drops of demand for air travel. Since 2013, flights in the ECAC area have grown by 15.4% which corresponds to 1.5 million additional flights in 2019 compared to 2013 totalling just under 11 million flights.