EUROCONTROL

General (ICAO)

ICAO sets global standards; regional implementation in Europe is partly carried out by EUROCONTROL and its Member States.

Europe (EUROCONTROL + EASA / EU)

EUROCONTROL — the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation — is an intergovernmental organisation (not an EU agency), founded by the EUROCONTROL Convention of 13 December 1960 (revised, most recently in 1997). 41 Member States in Europe (status 2024), headquartered in Brussels, with operational centres in Maastricht (UAC), Brétigny and Luxembourg.

Main tasks of EUROCONTROL:

1. Network Manager (NM)

• EUROCONTROL has been designated by the European Commission under Regulation (EU) 677/2011 (now Regulation (EU) 2019/123) as the Network Manager for the European ATM network — a key role in the Single European Sky.
• Tasks: European route network design, slot management, Air Traffic Flow and Capacity Management (ATFCM), crisis coordination.
• Initial Flight Plan Processing System (IFPS) — central processing of all ICAO flight plans in Europe.

2. Centralised Route Charges Service (CRCO)

• Levies en-route navigation charges centrally on behalf of participating Member States and transfers them to the respective air navigation service providers.
• Simplifies cross-border payment for airspace users.

3. Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC)

• An area control centre operated directly by EUROCONTROL for the upper airspace (FL245+) over Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and north-western Germany.

4. ATM strategy and research

• R&D programmes such as SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research, jointly with the EU and industry).
• Publication of the European ATM Master Plan.

5. Training and standards

• The EUROCONTROL Institute of Air Navigation Services (IANS) in Luxembourg trains ATCOs and specialists.
• Development of common technical specifications, e.g. for the AIRAC calendar and FPL standards (see IFPS).

6. AIRAC calendar

• EUROCONTROL publishes the AIRAC effective dates calendar valid Europe-wide (congruent with ICAO).

Relationship with EASA: EUROCONTROL is the operational service provider and ATM coordinator, while EASA as an EU agency sets the safety rules. EUROCONTROL is not part of the EU structure; some EU Member States are not in EUROCONTROL and vice versa.

Germany (national)

Germany is a founding member of EUROCONTROL. Operational link:

• DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung participates in the Network Manager network.
• German en-route charges are levied via CRCO.
• Parts of the upper German airspace (north-west, above FL245) are controlled by MUAC Maastricht, not by DFS.