Eurostat

Transport Unit

5, Rue Alphonse Weicker L- 2920 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG G-D

EUROCONTROL is a pan-European, civil-military organisation dedicated to supporting European aviation.

More information on Eurocontrol can be found under the following link.

Here you may find list of Member States.

The data disseminated by Eurostat is narrowed to scheduled and non-scheduled commercial air flights (passengers, freight and mail) performed under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).

The data do not cover the following:

• Military traffic (neither Operational Air Traffic 'OAT' nor General Air Traffic 'GAT')
• 'Head of State' and other sensitive flights
• Flights marked with ICAO flight types 'General Aviation' and 'Other'
• Circular flights

The total number of flights has been calculated applying double counting exclusion at country level (for domestic traffic) and EU level (for intra-EU traffic).

Data is disseminated in two Eurobase tables:

Airport traffic data by reporting country - monthly data (source: Eurocontrol) (avia_tf_cm)

Airport traffic data by reporting airport  monthly data (source: Eurocontrol) (avia_tf_airpm)

Number of flights is aggregated at airport level.

Commercial air transport

Commercial type of operation follows the ICAO definition for “Commercial air transport” – an aircraft operation involving the transport of passengers, cargo or mail for remuneration or hire. It includes scheduled air services (ICAO code ‘S’), non-scheduled revenue operations (code ‘N’), specific/exceptional non-revenue operations, other and unknown.

An air transport flight or series of flights for the public transport of passengers and/or freight and mail, for remuneration or for hire. Commercial operations maybe scheduled or non-scheduled.

• Scheduled air service: a commercial air service operated according to a published timetable or with such a regular frequency that it constitutes an easily recognizable systematic series of flights that are open to direct booking by members of the public.
• Non-scheduled air service: a commercial air service other than scheduled air services. This includes charter flights and other special flights performed for remuneration such as air taxi, off-shore flights or sightseeing.
• Charter flight: a non-scheduled operation using a chartered aircraft
• Air taxi: On-demand, non-scheduled flights on short notice for the carriage by air of passengers, freight or mail or any combination thereof for remuneration usually performed with smaller aircraft (max 30 seats or max 3 400 kg of payload capacity). Includes an on-demand flight for the specific carriage of sick or injured persons. (Air ambulance).
• Off-shore: A flight for the carriage of passengers or freight or a combination thereof for remuneration to and from an off-shore installation.
• Sightseeing: A flight for the carriage of passengers by air for remuneration that returns to the departure point.

Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates under conditions in which flying by outside visual reference is not safe, or flying by reference to instruments in the flight deck and navigation is accomplished by reference to electronic signals. Aircraft shall be equipped with suitable instruments and with navigation equipment appropriate to the route to be flown.

An aircraft - any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other than the reactions of air against the earth’s surface Dirigibles and surface effect vehicles such as hovercraft are excluded.

Flight - the operation of an aircraft on one or more flight stages, using a single flight number, assigned by the airline.

Owing to technical and operational reasons, the Number of flights computed from Eurocontrol data is actually the number of flight stages (sometimes also referred to as “flight legs”).

The total number of flights performed by an aircraft, irrespectively where the flight took place. Only those flight cancellations for which at least 1 flight plan was filed are known to Eurocontrol.

Flight

Flights departing from / landing in the Eurocontrol Network Manager area for which at least one flight plan has been filed to Eurocontrol, narrowed to commercial IFR flights only. Only flights whose completion has been confirmed by ATC (Air Traffic Control) messages or radar data are reflected.

The geographical coverage is the Eurocontrol Network Manager area. the following countries report the traffic to Eurocontrol:

• EU Member States
• UK
• IS
• NO
• CH
• MK
• ME
• TR
• RS
• AL

Monthly data starting from January 2019 onwards.

Not applicable.

Number of flights.

Monthly data, first reference period: January 2019.

Not applicable.

Agreement signed between Eurocontrol and Eurostat - June 2020.

Data provided to Eurostat by Eurocontrol are not subject to confidentiality.

No additional data treatment due to confidentiality.

The dissemination tables are updated on monthly basis.

Not applicable.

Data is publically available at the date of the update of the dissemination tables.

Every month.

No News Release.

Not applicable.

Data is disseminated in two Eurobase tables:

Airport traffic data by reporting country - monthly data (source: Eurocontrol) (avia_tf_cm)

Airport traffic data by reporting airport – monthly data (source: Eurocontrol) (avia_tf_airpm)

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not available.

Not available.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Monthly traffic data derived from Eurocontrol at airport level is available just after the end of each month. Therefore may serve as preliminary information on air traffic, before the data coming from regulatory data collection (Regulation 437/2003) is available.

There are some methodological differences between the two data collections  - Eurocontrol’s and Eurostat’s -  that might result in discrepancies.

Not available.

The data provided by eurocontrol are final and complete.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The data is provided to Eurostat by Eurocontrol 5 days after the end of each reporting period (month). The dissemination of the data in Eurobase tables takes no later then by the 15th day of each month.

No delays in data provisions foreseen.

Full compatibility between reporting and geographical areas.

Data comparable between reporting periods (months).

The data is to a high extent coherent with the data collected with the Regulation 437/2003. The discrepancies are caused mainly by certain diffrences in the definitions applied and exclusions of some flight types. See point 3 for more information.

Not applicable.

Not applicable - available administrative data is used. No burden for the reporting countries.

Final data is disseminated.

Final data is disseminated only.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/317 of 11 February 2019 laying down a perfromance and charging scheme in the single European sky and repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) No 390/2013 and (EU) No 391/2013.

Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/123 of 24 January 2019 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of air traffic management (ATM) network functions and repealing Commission Regulation (EU) No 677/2011.

Appointment of Eurocontrol as the Network Manager for the ATM network functions of the single European sky in accordance with Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/709of 6 May 2019 on the appointment of the network manager for air traffic management (ATM) network functions of the single European sky.

Data is collected at daily basis, then aggregated at monthly level and provided to Eurostat.

Information not available.

Information not available.

Data is aggregated at monthly level; circular flights as well as sensitive data excluded ('Head of State' and military flights, airline information).

Before dissemination in Eurobase tables, Eurostat compile information at airport level - detailed information (number of flights aggregated: arrivals + departures) is disseminated. Only airports that reports to Eurostat according Regulation 437/2003 (reported at least once) are shown in the dissemination table avia_tf_airpm. The other airports that report commercial traffic to Eurocontrol but are below the reporting threshold of 15,000 passenger units per year (provision of Regulation 437/2003) are aggregated under country aggregate (country code_OTH).

The total number of flights presented in Commercial air flights data by reporting country  monthly data (source: Eurocontrol) (avia_tf_cm) has been calculated applying double counting exclusion at country level (for domestic traffic) and EU level (for intra-EU traffic).

Not applicable.

Not applicable