LFV Annual report 2018 1
L F V 2018 DIRE C T OR - GENERAL ’ S S T A TEMENT
LFV IS ONE OF THE BEST IN EUROPE FOR PROVIDING CAPACITY After 2018, LFV can record another record year for Swedish airspace. Every 24 hours, we have safely and efficiently guided about 2,000 aircraft through Swedish airspace on their way to or from an airport in or outside of Sweden. The high volume of air traffic places great demands on LFV as air navigation service provider. “The increased demands and rapid changes over the last few years place great demands on LFV’s employees. As DirectorGeneral, I put a great deal of effort into these changes.” In 2018, LFV handled 785,000 movements in Swedish airspace. With the exception of September, traffic increased during all months when compared with 2017. Domestic traffic declined, overflights increased, and international traffic remained at approximately the same level as 2017. Operational air traffic management services in control centres and at airports have handled the increase in traffic with minimal delays, well within the performance targets set for the operations in agreements with airports at the EU level. Internationally, too, air traffic has continued to grow, which has – in Europe – caused large problems with capacity and greatly increased flight delays. FINANCES Last year’s result amounted to 5 million SEK. The result is affected by approximately 25 million SEK (net) relating to an increase in pension costs due to a further reduction of the interest rate, which affects pension liability. The increase in traffic has generated more revenue than previous years, although LFV is not permitted to retain the full increase in revenue according to the current charging model. The outcome is as budgeted, but LFV does not reach the required return on equity or the equity ratio target. Our assess - ment is that the equity ratio target is extremely difficult to achieve as long as the pension commitment is financed over the balance sheet. 2019 is the last year of EU reference period 2, which steers air navigation services towards targets relating to air safety, capacity, environment and cost-effectiveness. LFV reached the targets between 2015 and 2017. In 2018, LFV essentially reached the capacity target for Terminal Arlanda, and the environmental target was marginally exceeded. In 2019, targets will be set for the coming reference period 3, which begins on 1 January 2020. These will be crucial to LFV’s 4 development and ability to deliver over the coming five-year period. The targets so far discussed remain very ambitious. I would say that overly ambitious cost-effectiveness targets can have a negative effect on our ability to deliver capacity for the airspace. INTERNATIONALLY LFV has large international commitments. With our partners and alliances, we participate in the development of Europe’s air traffic. As the new chairman in COOPANS (Cooperation between Air Navigation Services Providers), I shall, together with my colleagues, continue to pursue successful collaboration in the alliance. COOPANS is also the voice of LFV and our five partners in the SESAR programme that plans to streamline air navigation service in Europe. REMOTE AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT 2018 was the year when the collaboration for remote air traffic management with our customer Swedavia entered the implementation phase at four of Swedavia’s airports. Every day, we see how the new control centre in Stockholm is developing, and out at the airports, masts and their cameras are getting set up. At the Sundsvall and Örnsköldsvik airports, agreements have been signed with LFV’s partly owned company Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions AB (SDATS) for remote air traffic management for eight years. On 4 December, Saarbrücken became the first German airport to receive remote air traffic management, and on 13 December, it was the British Cranfield Airport’s turn, with SDATS as supplier. Digitalisation of air traffic management is happening globally. We can see that more countries are going to follow in Sweden’s, Germany’s and Great Britain’s footsteps. RESUMED NATIONAL DEFENCE CAPABILITY Sweden is strengthening its defences, which affects LFV, as it is also sharing in this work. Resumed national defence capability is a collective term for the measures that are taken. As a supplier of air navigation services in Swedish airspace, where civil and military aviation are integrated, LFV plays an important role as monitoring authority. During the year, we have worked to develop