Austro Control

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AustriaAustria  Austro Control
Austrian Society for Civil Aviation mbH
(ACG)
Austrian authority
logo
State level Federation
Position of the authority Federal company, aviation agency
legal form GmbH
At sight Austrian Ministry of Transport
founding 1993 (1955 as Federal Office for Civil Aviation )
Headquarters Vienna 22 , Wagramer Strasse 19
Authority management Valerie Hackl ,
Axel Schwarz
Servants 1.008
Branch Air traffic control , air traffic control
sales EUR 230.5 million
Website www.austrocontrol.at

The Austro Control Austrian Society for Civil Aviation with Limited Liability  ( ACG ) is a public, privately organized Austrian company, which is responsible for the safe and economical flow of air traffic in Austrian airspace. Since January 2019 Valerie Hackl and Axel Schwarz have been the Austro-Control management team. From May 22, 2019 to June 3, 2019 Valerie Hackl was on leave for the duration of her ministerial position.

General

The ACG emerged from the Federal Office for Civil Aviation in 1993 and took over its sovereign tasks on January 1, 1994.

The air traffic controllers at the overflight control center in Vienna's 3rd  district and in the air traffic control units at all Austrian airports ensure that air traffic is handled safely. In 2012, a total of around 1.1 million flight movements were checked.

tasks

The responsibilities of Austro Control are divided into two corporate areas: the Air Navigation Services  (ANS) area with predominantly operational tasks and the area of ​​official agendas as an aviation agency .

Air Navigation Services

Austro Control air traffic control system

The Air Traffic Management is responsible both for operational traffic control and for the planning of procedures and capacities. The approximately 300 air traffic controllers at Austro Control ensure that air traffic over Austria and at all Austrian airports is safe. The Austro Control Engineering Services  (AES) department, with around 200 air traffic control engineers and technicians, also operates and maintains all air traffic control systems in Austria, such as radio and navigation systems, data transmission and processing systems or radar stations such as the medium-range radar stations Buschberg , Feichtberg and Koralpe .

In Germany, the regional airports in Braunschweig-Wolfsburg , Friedrichshafen , Heringsdorf , Kassel-Calden , Lübeck-Blankensee , Schwerin-Parchim as well as the special airport Oberpfaffenhofen and the airfields Augsburg and Hof-Plauen use the Air Traffic Services of Austro Control.

The Aeronautical Information Management ( Aeronautical Information Service ) provides pilots with all the flight operations information necessary to the aviation weather service warns of dangerous weather phenomena such as thunderstorms, turbulence or icing zones.

Aviation agency

As part of the Aviation Agency, official services for aviation are provided on behalf of the Republic of Austria. This includes, among other things, the monitoring of compliance with aviation regulations, the approval of aircraft as well as the examination of their airworthiness and operational suitability, the supervision of maintenance and aviation companies, the implementation of so-called ramp checks on foreign aircraft, the issuing of civil aviation identity cards ( pilot's licenses ) as well as the supervision of the civil aviation schools . The search and rescue service ensures that missing aircraft are located and appropriate rescue measures are initiated.

Society

The tower at Schwechat Airport is operated by Austro Control

The Austro Control Österreichische Gesellschaft für Zivilluftfahrt mit limited liability was founded on December 30, 1993 with the articles of association of December 15, 1993 and with the first entry in the commercial register under the commercial register number 71000m and began its activities on January 1, 1994.

The sole shareholder is the Republic of Austria with paid-in share capital of EUR 25,000,000, represented by the BMVIT . By resolution of the General Meeting of April 20, 2006, a capital increase from company funds by EUR 17,732,716.58 and a new version of the articles of association were resolved and implemented. Former co-partner is Wolfgang Nikolaus with a deposit of 1,000 schillings .

The company headquarters is located in the 22nd Viennese district , IZD Tower; the overflight control center (ACC -  Area Control Center ) is located in Schnirchgasse in Vienna's 3rd district . In addition, Austro Control operates air traffic control units at all Austrian airports. The tallest control tower is 109 meters high at Vienna- Schwechat Airport.

organs

  • The managing directors who are collectively authorized to sign are Valerie Hackl (on leave from May 22 to June 3, 2019 for the duration of their ministerial work) and Axel Schwarz
  • Authorized signatories with collective signing authority are Christoph Gottstein and Hubert Walter.
  • Until December 31, 2019, the Supervisory Board consisted of Werner Walch (Chairman; Lawyer), Günther Ofner (Deputy Chairman; Flughafen Wien AG), Kathrin Glock (Glock Horse Performance Center GmbH), Elisabeth Landrichter (Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology), Katharina Levina-Rabl (Bank Austria, Member of UniCredit) and Karin Vorauer-Mischer (Federal Ministry of Finance). On December 31, 2019, Werner Walch resigned from his position as head of the supervisory board of the air traffic control authority Austro Control.

Holdings

The MeteoServe GmbH , and the ACG International , are 100% affiliates is Austro Control. Austro Control has a 20% stake in Flight Calibration Services (FCS) .

Austro Control and Single European Sky

The European Commission's Single European Sky initiative provides for the standardization of European airspace. The aim is to create a common European airspace that is independent of national borders and that is based exclusively on operational requirements and thus contributes to the safe, efficient and economical flow of air traffic.

Functional airspace blocks

The core of this is the formation of five to ten cross-border airspace blocks (functional airspace blocks) . Austro Control is involved in the formation of a Central European airspace block. Together with the Czech Republic , Hungary , Slovakia , Slovenia , Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina , this block was established in Europe at the end of 2012.

SES Performance Scheme

Another important pillar of SES is the so-called “Performance Scheme”. Air navigation service providers are becoming “regulated” companies in certain areas. The “key performance areas” are security, capacity, cost efficiency and the environment. The agreed performance specifications for the first “Single European Sky” regulatory period (2012–2014) were met by Austro Control. With an average reduction in the regulated fee rate of 2.6% per year until 2014, Austro Control is significantly better than the European average (2.2%). The specified punctuality value of 0.23 minutes per flight was also achieved with pinpoint accuracy.

Airspace optimization

The optimization of the Austrian airspace in accordance with the specifications of “Single European Sky” is carried out in close cooperation with the air traffic control of the states of the “Functional Airspace Block Central Europe” (FAB CE - Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina ) consistently continued. At the beginning of April 2014, another important step towards the full implementation of “Free Route” was taken. Austro Control offers a total of 122 so-called “Direct Routings” with more direct route guidance and shorter routes in Austrian airspace. This further reduces both flight times and kerosene consumption. The full implementation of “Free Route” in Austria is planned for 2016. Pilots then only announce entry and exit points and fly directly through Austrian airspace.

By 2019, the "Free Route" is to be implemented in the entire FAB CE airspace and thus contribute to a significant reduction in costs and pollutants in European airspace. The availability of cross-border straightened flight paths in the FAB CE airspace will shorten flight routes by around 15 million kilometers by 2019 and thus reduce CO 2 emissions by up to 172,000 tons. For the airlines this means cost savings of 77 million euros.

criticism

In the past, Austro Control was confronted with allegations regarding costs and fees as well as a discussion about the approval of rescue helicopters .

Costs & fees

The fee increase of 14.3% to EUR 68.91 in 2010 caused massive criticism from the AEA and IATA , as well as the Austrian airlines NIKI and AUA , who saw a considerable competitive disadvantage.

Comparison of overflight fees in the member countries of Eurocontrol
E. B , L SLO CH A. GB D. I. E-CN NL F. DK N S. MK SK P - L CZ RO LT AL BG MR SF PL MD SCG BIH GR H IR CY TR POOR M. P - A
fee

(2010)

84.0 76.5 76.2 74.9 68.9 68.9 68.9 68.5 68.1 65.7 65.0 64.3 63.6 58.0 56.6 53.8 49.0 47.4 46.4 45.8 44.3 42.8 41.8 40.2 39.9 39.8 39.2 39.1 38.9 36.6 30.7 30.1 29.6 27.8 25.7 12.2
Changes in %

(2009-2010)

0 0.7 0 0 14.3 5.0 2.7 4.0 0 2.5 5.9 3.8 0.1 9.9 0.6 0 3.2 3.7 17.1 - 5.9 5.6 - 1.8 - 10.1 0 17.9 - 4.5 21.9 10.7 - 11.8 16.6 3.9 0.5 13.1 32.4 - 4.4 - 19.0

Austro Control has to cover its costs through air traffic control fees. Route charges are levied and collection is carried out by Eurocontrol for the member states participating in the Eurocontrol charge system . However, the extremely high costs - with an average income of around 100,000 euros, especially in the area of ​​staff - are a main point of criticism.

Austro Control said it kept the fee stable for 2011 (slight increase to 69.38 euros).

Discussion about rescue helicopters

At the beginning of 2010, the Ministry of Transport's ordinance  (AOCV 2008) , which came into force, sparked discussions, according to which only those helicopters may be used for ambulance and rescue flights that meet the provisions of this ordinance ( air rescue in Austria: safety standards since 2010 ). Five helicopters belonging to Salzburg entrepreneur Roy Knaus were affected. The criticism concerned the new safety regulations and their interpretation. Therefore, on January 18, 2010, a complaint was brought to the Salzburg public prosecutor's office on suspicion of abuse of office and corruption against unknown perpetrators in the circle of Austro Control , which Austro Control described as "insubstantial".

To make matters worse, one of the Austro Control inspectors responsible for the Knaus helicopters is said to have worked for the competitor SHS on the side, which Austro Control denied. However, the principle followed is that flight operations supervisory activities and secondary employment are strictly separated.

After examining the facts, the public prosecutor made it clear that Austro Control acted correctly in connection with the implementation of the AOCV 2008 regulation (“The decisions correspond to international requirements”), and the investigations have therefore been discontinued. Even before the public prosecutor's office ceased the investigation, the Constitutional Court had rejected a complaint that had been submitted regarding the approval of individual rescue helicopter types for formal legal reasons. Austro Control's approach was also confirmed by the decision of the Supreme Civil Aviation Authority in the Ministry of Transport.

Since January 1, 2010, only those helicopters have been used in ambulance and rescue flights in Austria that met the requirements of this ordinance. This regulation was again repealed in October 2011 by the Constitutional Court because the regulation was not in accordance with the EU. This regulation must therefore be amended by March 2012.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c It was a risk here: . Profile , edition 2019/24, page 37.
  2. ↑ a b c orf.at: Infrastructure Minister Hackl has the right of return . Article dated May 25, 2019, accessed May 25, 2019.
  3. ↑ a b Annual Report 2010
  4. ^ Wiener Zeitung: Official Gazette: Commercial register, changes and additions . Article dated February 22, 2019, accessed May 21, 2019.
  5. ^ Austro Control Facts and Figures
  6. ↑ Austro Control GmbH - Know How & New Services. Retrieved February 6, 2018 .
  7. ↑ 2006 Annual Report.
  8. ↑ Austria Control Supervisory Board. In: austrocontrol.at. Retrieved September 23, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Austro-Control supervisory board chief Walch resigned from office. In: Vorarlberger Nachrichten . January 1, 2020, accessed January 1, 2020 .
  10. ↑ FAB CE - Functional Airspaceblock Central Europe.
  11. ↑ Performance Scheme ( Memento from November 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ).
  12. ↑ Austro Control in the wake of Serbia and Armenia ( Memento of the original from December 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Tourismuswirtschaft Austria International, December 11, 2009.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.touristaustria.at
  13. ↑ a b arbitrariness allegations against aviation authority ; Der Standard, February 2, 2010.
  14. ↑ Excitement at AUA: Austro Control increases fees . In: Small newspaper . November 8, 2009. Archived from the original on November 12, 2009. Retrieved on April 22, 2019.
  15. ↑ [CHECK SOURCE! touristaustria.at ( Memento of the original from June 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Comparison of overflight charges in Europe] (PDF; 42 kB); Tourism Industry Austria International. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.touristaustria.at
  16. ↑ RH criticizes the multiplication of board fees ; Der Standard, February 11, 2010
  17. ↑ Austro Control with lower sales and earnings ; Der Standard, June 24, 2010.
  18. ↑ Governor Gabi Burgstaller u. a. ; The report (ORF2) from February 9, 2010.
  19. ↑ Austro Control rejects allegations of abuse of office  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Salzburger Nachrichten, January 19, 2010.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.salzburg.com  
  20. ↑ Answer to Question No. 3305 / J of October 20, 2009 (PDF; 33 kB); BMVIT, December 18, 2009.
  21. ↑ Investigations against Austro Control discontinued ; Vorarlberg online, October 5, 2010.
  22. ^ VfGH complaint rejected ; ORF Tirol, July 16, 2010.
  23. ↑ Supreme judges end helicopter dispute: Austro Control in the wrong on ORF-Salzburg from October 27, 2011, accessed on October 28, 2011.
  24. ↑ Schenk-Air gets the right from the highest court on ORF-Vorarlberg from October 27, 2011, accessed on October 28, 2011.

Coordinates: 48 ° 11 ′ 37.1 ″  N , 16 ° 24 ′ 46.2 ″  E