LFV Annual report 2021 1
L F V 2021 DIRE C T OR GEN ERAL ’ S S T A TEMENT
ANOTHER YEAR WITH THE PANDEMIC The crisis that the pandemic caused aviation as a global means of transport is not over yet. In a crisis, choosing new paths becomes a survival strategy. The same is true for LFV. I am convinced that we will one day emerge stronger from today's crisis. We look forward to developing modern and climate-smart conditions for all Swedish airspace users. With 2021, we are putting another pandemic year behind us. Let us hope that 2022 will be the year when the world will gain control over the spread of infection. We also hope that COVID-19 will be a manageable disease without the devastating consequences and loss of human life that we have seen thus far. Of our approximately 1,100 employees, around half perform operational work in air traffic control. Those working in our offices worked from home from March 2020 until the end of September 2021, when restrictions were lifted and we began a gradual return to our offices. Meanwhile, we dissolved our staff organisation that had managed the pandemic and its consequences. At the beginning of December, we returned to working from home and re-instated the staff organisation. In 2021, the pandemic continued to have a major impact on travel and thus also aviation. The aviation industry crisis is not over yet. In 2021, the number of air movements in Swedish airspace increased by 8 percent from 332,000 to 359,000 but decreased by 54 percent compared with 2019, i.e., before the pandemic. FEASIBILITY STUDY AND AVIATION SAFETY It is our duty, as it is for companies, to continuously develop the activities and to operate as efficiently as possible. To meet the demands of the outside world and our development needs, we need to explore all streamlining opportunities. Therefore, in the autumn of 2021, we launched a feasibility study. This will test the hypothesis of what consolidating our operational activities as much as possible would mean to streamlining and increased robustness, but also what risks it would entail. According to our assignment from our owner, the central government, we must provide a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly air traffic service for civil and military aviation. Aviation safety is our first priority. Our overall goal is to not contribute to any aviation safety-related incident that causes serious injury or death. We reached that goal in 2021, as well. CONTROL CENTRE COMMISSIONED 21 April 2015 was a big and proud moment in LFV's more than 70-year history, when we were the first in the world to commission remote air traffic control. 6 An equally big day for us was 1 June 2021, when flights at Kiruna Airport began to be remotely controlled from RTC Stockholm, our newly built control centre at Arlanda. The commissioning was the result of the agreement that our customer Swedavia and LFV signed in November 2017 regarding the establishment of remote air traffic control at the four airports Kiruna Airport, Åre Östersund Airport, Umeå Airport and Malmö Airport. Remote air traffic control was also commissioned at Åre Östersund Airport on 1 December and we are now continuing with Umeå Airport and Malmö Airport. PARTICIPATION IN SDATS IS DIVESTED Since 2016, Saab and LFV have engaged in development, marketing, sales and operation of remote air traffic control in the joint company Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions AB, SDATS. During these years, the company has won several technology contracts, while remotely operating air navigation services for four airports from the control centre in Sundsvall: Örnsköldsvik Airport, Linköping City Airport, Scandinavian Mountains Airport, and Sundsvall Timrå Airport. Saab is a technology supplier in the company with a global marketing organisation, while LFV's contribution has been know-how and experience of the operational concept. Over time, we have seen a shift in the global market towards the national air navigation service providers wanting to own the know-how and control the service themselves, which has led to a demand for pure technology providers. Therefore, we divested our holding in SDATS, 41 percent of the shares, at the end of 2021. Saab took over the shares and is thus the sole owner of SDATS. NEW AIRSPACE INVESTIGATED For us and other air navigation service providers and airlines, a well-functioning airspace is of the utmost importance. Here, air traffic must flow smoothly, safely, and efficiently to and from the airports and when aircraft are at cruising altitude. For those who live in the vicinity of airports, the design and geographical location of the approach and departure routes are important to minimize noise and emissions in the local environment. In September, LFV received a Government assignment to propose how the airspace below an altitude of 2 900 meters should be designed to create better conditions for more environmentally