Airlines using European airspace will now pay route charges based on the actual route flown rather than on the latest known flight plan, as prescribed by 1998’s "Route per State Overflown" methodology. According to Eurocontrol director general Eamonn Brennan, the new system marks a “big charging change” and will support the most efficient use of airspace in the European ATM network. The revision of the distance factor in the route charge formula will ensure that air navigation service providers (ANSPs) receive revenue for the flights they have effectively controlled while removing the incentive for airlines to file “route charges optimized” flight plans favoring a route—and ANSPs with the lowest service unit rates—to which they do not always adhere, the Brussels-based organization noted. “In recent years, it was observed that in some cases the flight plan was not followed and that the actual route differed in those cases, sometimes to a significant extent,” a Eurocontrol spokesman told AIN.
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