The 2009 business year Chairman s message 6 Message from the CEO 7 Highlights of the year 9 Key performance statistics 10

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1 Contents Skyguide in brief 2 The 2009 business year Chairman s message 6 Message from the CEO 7 Highlights of the year 9 Key performance statistics 10 Management and operations Goal-based strategy implementation 18 Air navigation services in practice Safety culture and safety strategy developments 21 Operations: core competencies at high performance levels 23 Charges kept stable despite revenue declines 26 Technology and innovation 28 Employee skills and social policy 31 Protecting the environment 36 Corporate governance The Board of Directors 38 The Board of Management 39 The management of the company 41 Financial report Statutory accounts Income statements for the years ended 31 December 2009 and Balance sheet as at 31 December 2009 and Annex to the statutory accounts as at 31 December Proposal of the Board of Directors 53 Report of the statutory auditors 54 Consolidated financial statements Consolidated income statement for the years ended 31 December 2009 and Consolidated balance sheet as at 31 December 2009 and Consolidated cash flow statements for the years ended 31 December 2009 and Consolidated statement of changes in shareholders equity, for the years ended 31 December 2009 and Annex to the consolidated accounts as at 31 December Report of the group auditors 78 Air navigation services statement for Glossary of abbreviations 83 Contact and publishing details 84 skyguide Annual Report

2 Skyguide in brief Mandate and services Skyguide performs its services under a legal mandate issued by the Swiss Confederation and the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), Switzerland s national aviation authority. The mandate requires skyguide to ensure the safe, fluid and cost-effective management of air traffic in Swiss airspace and in the adjacent airspace of neighbouring countries delegated to skyguide s control. Skyguide s legally-prescribed duties and tasks include providing civil and military air navigation services, aeronautical information and telecommunication services and the technical services required to install, operate and maintain the company s air navigation systems. Skyguide is fully committed to its public service mandate. Integrated civil and military services The closest possible collaboration between civil and military air navigation services is essential if Switzerland s airspace is to be managed safely and efficiently. By providing integrated civil-and-military air navigation services as it has done since 2001 skyguide meets both the Swiss Air Force s need to maintain the country s airspace sovereignty and the civil aviation community s demand for maximum cost-efficiency. Skyguide s integrated civil-and-military air navigation services enhance the flexibility of airspace use, to the benefit of all its users. A sustainable approach As a High-Reliability Organisation (HRO), skyguide strives to achieve and maintain a dynamic balance between safety, capacity, costs and sustainability in the services it provides. The last of these components sustainability extends to the company s corporate responsibility in both social and environmental terms. Skyguide pursues a progressive social policy that is based on reciprocal respect and on an appreciation of the individual and their position in the company. In a broader sense, the company creates highly specialised jobs in a demanding technical field and thereby helps develop tomorrow s skills and expertise within the Swiss economy. Environmental care has become a major issue throughout the aviation industry, and skyguide intends to intensify its own contribution. A clear position within Switzerland and Europe Skyguide is a business-minded and customer-focused joint-stock company under private law that is owned by the Swiss Confederation. The company aims to ensure its own further development within the rapidly-changing European air navigation services sector, and reflects this intention in its corporate strategy. This is why skyguide is lobbying strongly for changes to the present system for financing the services it provides, and why it is playing a leading international role, through its collaborations and its creative commitment, in the present endeavours to establish a Single European Sky. This is the only way to ensure that Switzerland s sovereign airspace will continue to be managed safely and efficiently by a Swiss company. The skyguide vision Skyguide positions itself as a highly reliable and successful civil and military air navigation service provider. The company is perceived as such in Switzerland, and is also viewed as an attractive cooperation partner at the European level. History Skyguide traces its origins back to Marconi Radio AG, a telegraphy company founded in Marconi Radio was renamed Radio Schweiz AG in Three years later, the Swiss Federal Air Office mandated the company to provide air navigation services in Switzerland. To ensure a clearer focus on what is now skyguide s core business, Radio Schweiz s air navigation services were spun off in 1988 into Swisscontrol Swiss Air Navigation Services Ltd. The new company was placed on an autonomous financial footing in In 2001 the Swiss Confederation expanded Swisscontrol s mandate to providing military air navigation services the first time in European aviation history that such civil and military services have been entrusted to the same organisation. The company renamed itself skyguide to underline its new strategic thrust and to promote the subsequent integration of its civil and military operations. Cross-border airspace The airspace skyguide manages and monitors extends beyond Switzerland s borders into France, Italy, Austria and Germany. Over 40 % of the flights handled by the company are in this adjacent foreign airspace which has been assigned to skyguide s control. In return, part of southern Swiss airspace is controlled by Italy s air navigation service provider, and EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is managed by skyguide s counterpart in France. As a result of its position within the international airways network, Swiss airspace is among the most complex and heavily-used in Europe, and is home to two of the continent s busiest airway intersections. The large volumes of en-route traffic are supplemented by sizeable numbers of climbing and descending flights that are generated by the numerous intercontinental airports located close to the Swiss border in neighbouring countries. Swiss airspace also includes extensive areas which are reserved for the use of the Swiss Air Force at certain times. Particularly complex air traffic flows Any flight which is operated under instrument flight rules (IFR) will pass through various control sectors. The greater the number of sectors involved, the more complex and demanding the job of air traffic management will be. Traffic to and from airports and their terminal manoeuvring areas (TMAs) in neighbouring countries poses particularly substantial demands. The flights climbing out of these TMAs enter skyguide s airspace at low altitudes, and have to be guided up to their intended flight level. The same procedure applies in reverse, of course, for traffic descending to airports just beyond Switzerland s borders. 2 skyguide Annual Report 2009

3 Zürich Kloten Dübendorf St.Gallen Altenrhein Grenchen Emmen Alpnach Buochs Payerne Bern Belp Meiringen Genf Cointrin Sion Locarno Lugano Agno Skyguide s airspace, locations and infrastructures Radar and navigation aids on the ground ensure safety in the air. Skyguide has its head office in Geneva and operations at 14 locations: at Geneva and Zurich national airports, at Bern Belp, Buochs, Grenchen (SO), Locarno, Lugano Agno, St. Gallen Altenrhein and Sion regional airports and at Alpnach, Dübendorf, Emmen, Meiringen and Payerne military aerodromes. At Les Eplatures, air navigation services (ANS) are delegated by skyguide to the local airport operator; skyguide still retains supervisory authority over ANS at this regional aerodrome, and is also empowered to issue directives if required. Civil locations Military locations Airspace managed by skyguide Delegated airspace Flight Information Region (FIR) Switzerland Flight zones used primarily by civil traffic with main airways Flight zones available for military traffic according to the Air Force s needs and reservations Mixed flight zones used according to the priorities of civil or military traffic Cross Border Area (CBA), military flight zone used in common with France and Italy Instrument landing systems (ILS) VOR/DME beacons Non-directional beacons and marker systems Direction finder systems Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems (ASMGCS) Approach/departure radar systems Long-range radar systems More than a third of all the flights controlled by skyguide fall into these traffic categories. Air traffic to and from Switzerland s various airports is similarly demanding in management and monitoring terms. All in all, more than 70 % of the flights handled by skyguide require increased coordination. En-route traffic, which flies through skyguide s airspace at a predefined flight level and accounts for 30 % of all skyguidecontrolled flights, is less work-intensive. Skyguide is also responsible for managing and monitoring all visual flight rules (VFR) traffic in the airspace it controls. skyguide Annual Report

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5 The 2009 business year

6 Chairman s message With a combination of strategic vision and financial circumspection, skyguide improved its position last year in a farfrom-easy overall economic environment. Our national and international positioning as a Swiss air navigation service provider within Europe was strengthened and enhanced in all key areas. And for their achievement in doing so, I offer my praise to all our employees and our Board of Management. Structural revisions thanks to political support We have been illustrating for several years now that, owing to a structural inconsistency for which it cannot be held responsible but which puts it at a severe financial disadvantage, skyguide is not fully able to cover the costs of its activities through the revenues it receives. Our message is getting through: in November 2009, the voters of Switzerland approved an amendment to Article 86 of the Swiss Constitution proposed by the Federal Council which will permit special funding for air traffic activities. Skyguide supported the proposed amendment, and will now be working within the aviation community to ensure that the funds available are used as effectively as possible. Partial financing of our activities at regional airports is one possible action here that would benefit all Swiss airspace users. We are also hopeful that the coming first partial revision of the Federal Aviation Act will pay due regard to skyguide s needs. We are following the Federal Council s deliberations on this with great interest, and hope that our requirements, wishes and concerns will be duly appreciated by both chambers of parliament. FABEC taking shape On the European strategy front, skyguide continues to pursue and promote the creation of a functional airspace block (FAB) covering Central Europe, together with the air navigation service providers of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and with Eurocontrol in Maastricht. The new Functional Airspace Block Europe Central (FABEC) is gaining in momentum, and the endeavours here are showing their first concrete results. Location study continuing Skyguide continued its studies throughout 2009 on which of the various scenarios proposed for our future operating location(s) would best help enable the company to implement its chosen strategy. The six models proposed were analysed extensively, and the corresponding conclusions have now been duly drawn. The basic decision on whether to proceed with any of the scenarios proposed has, however, been deferred until the scenario involving a collaboration with the air navigation service providers of France and Germany has been duly and fully considered. Here, too, it is becoming increasingly clear how vital and meaningful European collaborations are to skyguide s corporate future. Safety All our strategic, financial and organisational endeavours are meaningless, of course, unless they are founded on and geared to our most essential task of all: ensuring the safe, efficient and cost-effective handling of the air traffic in our care. By giving its Head of Safety a seat on the Board of Management, skyguide has clearly demonstrated where its priorities lie. And we are pleased to report that our company can present not only a faultless record in performance terms, but also a safety awareness that is firmly established at every corporate level. Team spirit In closing, I offer our new Board of Management and everyone at skyguide my warmest thanks and appreciation for all their work and commitment. It is through their daily efforts that we are able to provide high-quality and cost-effective air traffic services for all the users of Switzerland s airspace. Guy Emmenegger Chairman of the Board 6 skyguide Annual Report 2009

7 Message from the CEO 2009 was a difficult year for skyguide, but a successful one, too. Our company conducted extensive internal training and made various process adjustments to further develop its overall safety culture. Thanks to a combination of improvements in several areas and reduced traffic volumes, our punctuality performance was at an all-time high. The restructuring of our airspace in Western Switzerland which we effected at year-end will permanently increase available capacity. And a further highlight of the year was the relocation from Zurich Airport to Dübendorf of our area control centre for Eastern Switzerland. With its regional aerodrome operations and its military air navigation services, too, skyguide wholly fulfilled expectations. Our collaboration with the Swiss Air Force is of particularly vital importance, and will be further intensified. Our extensive efforts to improve our company s financial position also delivered impressive results. In short: I am proud of the good work that was performed throughout our organisation, and offer all my colleagues and co-workers my warmest thanks for all their exemplary commitment. Economic endeavours The aviation sector is highly sensitive to the ups and downs of the economic cycle. The current economic crisis depressed air traffic levels for 2009, and this in turn led to a decline in our annual operating revenue of CHF 13 million compared to budget. Skyguide had identified the trend at the end of 2008, and had thus been able to take appropriate decisive countermeasures as early as the 2009 budgeting process. Raising our charges was not an option in the current business environment, and economies on the safety front were simply out of the question. What skyguide devised was a four-step action plan which included across-the-board budget cuts, rationalising its project portfolio and reducing outstanding vacation and overtime amounts, and this successfully lowered our costs. The plan made great demands on all our personnel, but is now considered an exemplary response within the air navigation services sector. What was especially remarkable here was the way all our AOT employees and all our management personnel pledged their immediate support to this savings drive, which reduced our expenditure by CHF20 million. We also conducted collective labour agreement negotiations with our air traffic controllers, which were concluded in early Our suppliers and our partner MeteoSchweiz were further contributors to our savings success. Political solution still urgently required Skyguide s operating result remains clearly in the red. Our 2009 bottom line was a little better than expected, because the slightly higher traffic volumes of the last two months generated additional revenue. But we should not raise any false expectations here. The savings achieved in 2009 cannot be replicated to the same extent. As a result, it is impossible to maintain present cost levels for the longer term. That our charges for 2010 were kept the same as the previous three years, in full knowledge that this will produce a negative annual result, should be viewed as a signal, and as a means of improving our position in the European ATM landscape. Under our present financial plan, if we continue to keep our own house in order, and can count on assistance from the major decisions that are about to be made by the Swiss Confederation and parliament, skyguide should be able to post a breakeven result again in the next three to four years. The implementation of the popular vote to amend Article 86 of the Swiss Constitution should eliminate the present cost underrecovery for the services we provide at Switzerland s regional aerodromes. Further assistance should be provided by the ongoing revision of the Federal Aviation Act, which should ensure that skyguide can receive due compensation for the air navigation services it currently provides free of remuneration for adjoining airspace areas in neighbouring countries that have been delegated to its control. A European partner Skyguide is working with all possible urgency on developing the customer-focused strategies, processes and structures that will give it a firm and permanent place among Europe s leading air navigation service providers. The Single European Sky is coming, and the preparations for its implementation are accelerating now. Key courses will be set within the Functional Airspace Block Europe Central organisation in the near future. And, while we are not its biggest members, we are fully involved in FABEC s design and development. Our people Given its difficulties, the results we achieved in 2009 are all the more encouraging. Our controllers, our technicians, our specialists and our administrative personnel at all levels did excellent work. They are the greatest asset that Switzerland s air navigation services possess. And we owe them all our deepest thanks. Daniel Weder CEO skyguide Annual Report

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9 Highlights of the year January International audit collaboration expanded The well-proven international arrangements in conducting reciprocal auditing is extended to France and Germany s air navigation service providers. Innovative safety training A new system is introduced under which all employees of all units and levels will attend a workshop focusing on teamwork and team-mindedness, to help further enhance the skyguide safety culture. Resolute response to the economic crisis With air traffic levels continuing to decline, skyguide takes decisive action to stabilise the company s finances. The Board of Management defines a four-step package of measures to be implemented and pursued respective of subsequent economic developments. February Dübendorf area control centre put smoothly into operation The new Dübendorf area control centre assumes operations from its predecessor, the Zurich Airport centre, on the night of 9-10 February. The transfer brings to an end one of the most complex projects in the company s history. April Contingency planning concluded for an A(H1N1) pandemic Following warnings by the World Health Organization of a possible global A(H1N1) flu pandemic, skyguide modifies its Pandemic Business Continuity Plan to ensure that its air navigation services could continue to be provided even in such an event. May Bernhard Müller elected to the Board of Directors Major General Bernhard Müller, Chief of Swiss Air Force Operations, is elected to the Skyguide Board of Directors. He succeeds Lieutenant General Markus Gygax. June AOT personnel support sustainable salary policy The members of skyguide s two AOT staff unions, the Verband des Personals öffentlicher Dienste (VPoD) and the Gewerkschaft Kommunikation (GeKo), accept a proposed new salary package and an extension of the existing annexes to their collective labour agreement by substantial majorities. November Study on future operating locations extended Skyguide presents the first results of its study of various scenarios for its future operating locations. These include a Border Triangle option with a joint control centre in the trinational Basel region. This scenario, which would only be feasible with the collaboration of the DFS and the DSNA (skyguide s German and French counterparts), will be further studied in VSFD revision initiated With the initiation of the procedure to revise Switzerland s Ordinance on Air Navigation Services (VFSD), skyguide lobbies inter alia for the abolition of the present flat-rate approach to its fees at all Swiss airports. Skyguide believes that the relevant regulatory framework should be realigned to the standard European policy on approach-fee calculations. December Geneva Tower celebrates its 25th anniversary The control tower at Geneva Airport celebrates its 25 th birthday on 4 December. Geneva s tower personnel handle between 450 and 600 arrivals and departures a day, or some flights a year. The number of movements at Geneva Airport has virtually doubled in the 25 years since the present tower was opened. Western Swiss airspace restructured A new structure is successfully adopted for the upper airspace above Western Switzerland on the night of December. The new structure raises the capacity of the airspace concerned by 10 %, to help skyguide better cope with future increases in air traffic volumes. Operational training given profit-centre status The Skyguide Training Center, which is responsible for operational training, is turned into a separate profit centre with effect from 1 January The move marks a further step in skyguide s modular approach to certain service activities, and should optimally position the centre for the changes and challenges ahead. skyguide Annual Report

10 Key performance statistics The economic crisis had a clear and tangible impact on air traffic levels in With a 7.2 % year-on-year decline in the number of IFR flights handled, skyguide suffered its biggest slump in traffic volumes for 25 years. IFR flights The declines in instrument flight rules (IFR) traffic levels seen all over Europe were fully felt by skyguide, which suffered a 7.2 % slump in IFR flights handled, the biggest fall in the last 25 years. Having been severely depressed for the first ten months, traffic volumes for November and December were still 0.5 % to 1.8 % below their prior-year levels. En-route traffic declined by as much as 8.0 %. While the situation shows signs of slow recovery in the low-cost and business travel segments, there are no indications yet of a broader trend reversal. At the end of 2009, traffic volumes were lower than those of Change /09 IFR flights % of which en-route % Aircraft movements handled The movement table below shows only IFR flights. The table reflects the real scope of skyguide s operations at its various centres and locations. One flight will usually generate movements at more than one location. Change /09 Area control centres Geneva % Zurich % Total % Arrivals/departures Bern % Buochs % Donaueschingen % Friedrichshafen % Geneva % Grenchen % Les Eplatures % Lugano % Sion % St. Gallen Altenrhein % Zurich % Total % Almost all of skyguide s operating centres and locations sustained declines in the volumes of traffic they handled in At Switzerland s main international airports, Zurich saw its traffic fall by 4.8 %, while movements in Geneva were a full 8.0 % down on the prior year, with a particular slump in business aviation volumes. The declines in movements handled by the company s area control centres (7.0 % in Zurich, 9.3 % in Geneva) were steeper than at most airports, revealing that traffic to and from Switzerland was somewhat more resilient to the crisis than its en-route counterpart. Military aircraft movements The volume of military aircraft movements controlled by skyguide in 2009 was a 4.0 % decline on the previous year, while the total number of missions handled fell by around 7 %. Skyguide managed 306 live/hot missions and 2378 tactical missions for the Swiss Air Force in the course of the year. By contrast, the number of major exercises handled rose by a substantial 57 %. These complex and extremely demanding exercises help enhance job satisfaction among the company s tactical air traffic controllers. Change /09 Military aircraft movements % 10 skyguide Annual Report 2009

11 Civil IFR traffic trends, The graph below shows the seasonal fluctuations in the volumes of IFR flights handled daily by skyguide between 1998 and Each point represents the number of IFR flights handled on a particular day. IFR flights all skyguide centres IFR flights/day The seasonal fluctuations in air traffic levels can be seen in the very low volumes during the end-of-year period and the strong increases between June and September (though August tends to show slight volume declines). Traffic levels can also be influenced by further factors, such as the entry into service of new technical systems (with corresponding temporary capacity reductions) or working conditions IFR flights handled by all skyguide centres January 1998 to December Source CFMU Punctuality statistics (Air Traffic Flow Management) The air traffic flow management (ATFM) departure delays caused by air traffic control are a key criterion for assessing the performance of any air navigation service provider. ATFM departure delays can occur whenever Europe s Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) predicts that the number of flights scheduled to use a particular sector of airspace according to the flight plans submitted will exceed the sector s capacity (i.e. the number of aircraft that can be handled within it during a certain period of time). In such an event, the CFMU will intervene to assign specific takeoff slots to the individual flights concerned. Average ATFM delay per flight airport/en-route (skyguide airspace) Source CFMU Delay (in minutes) Airport En-route The graph reveals a steady increase in air traffic volumes from 1998 to the first half of 2001, followed by a tangible decline in 2002 whose origins can be traced back to October Following this, there is clear volume growth again until the beginning of 2008, and a visible decline at the end of that year which became even more pronounced in the course of Skyguide handled an average of 3143 flights a day in 2009 (compared to 3380 the previous year). The peak traffic day was 10 July, with 3792 flights. This was 8.7 % fewer than the 4153 handled on the record day of the previous year. skyguide Annual Report

12 Dynamic capacity management Since 2008 s minimal increase in traffic handled followed sizeable volume growth in 2007, skyguide was well prepared to cope with a larger traffic volume last year and was, as a result, able to deliver a first-class performance in punctuality terms. With delays per flight reduced by a remarkable 33 %, skyguide clearly achieved its performance goals for the year. En-route delays were reduced by 32 % to 0.76 minutes per flight, a figure that was close to the peak performance of 2004 but was achieved with 13 % more traffic than in that record year. Some 74 % of the delays incurred can be attributed to ATC capacity, 9 % to shortages of personnel and 14 % to weather conditions. Skyguide is working hard to minimise the impact of the first two factors here. Conducting a fundamental review of upper airspace capacity, developing new procedures, simulating new sector arrangements for Geneva and Zurich, revising personnel planning and intensifying recruitment activities should all help improve the situation in the medium term; and a new sectorisation could even have a positive effect on delays caused by weather conditions, too. Average delayed flights per day (skyguide airspace) Source CFMU Average delayed flights per day (Europe) Source CFMU Number of flights Number of flights Change (in %) Change (in %) Over 95 % of all the flights handled by skyguide were on time in The average number of delayed flights per day was a 33 % improvement on the previous year. Europe as a whole saw around 8 % of all flights suffer an ATFM delay. The average number of delayed flights per day for the continent as a whole was an improvement of more than 38 % on its prior-year level. Average ATFM delay per delayed flights (skyguide airspace) Source CFMU Average ATFM delay per delayed flights (Europe) Source CFMU Delay (in minutes) Delay (in minutes) Change (in %) Change (in %) While delays are to some extent unavoidable for flow management reasons, it is important that their impact on the flights concerned should be kept to a minimum. At 15.2 minutes (compared to 15.6 for 2008), the average length of the delays attributable to skyguide and its activities in 2009 was well below the European average of 19.8 minutes (which compares to 19.2 minutes for the previous year). 12 skyguide Annual Report 2009

13 ATM operations Skyguide has set clear and ambitious punctuality goals for both its en-route and its airport traffic. The delay statistics presented here make no distinction as to the cause of the delay, but are only categorised by the place where the delay occurs. To gain a clear and accurate picture of an air navigation service provider s performance, however, the individual causes of the delays incurred must also be considered. ATFM departure delays can have any of a number of causes, only some of which skyguide can be held responsible for. The list of possible causes has been standardised throughout Europe and comprises: Causes attributable to skyguide Exogenous factors Accident/Incident De-icing ATC capacity Equipment (non-atc) Industrial action (ATC) Aerodrome capacity ATC routing Military activity ATC staffing Industrial action (non ATC) Equipment (ATC) Special event Environmental issues Weather The transfer of its Eastern Switzerland area control centre from Zurich Airport to Dübendorf posed a major organisational challenge for skyguide s operations in Despite this, however, the company delivered an exemplary performance in punctuality terms. For its en-route traffic, skyguide reduced the average delay to 0.41 minutes per flight (a 35 % improvement on 2008). Its handling of airport traffic was even more impressive, with average delays per flight lowered a massive 48 % from 0.46 to 0.24 minutes. At Zurich, skyguide reduced airport delays from 0.91 minutes per landing/takeoff to 0.57 minutes, of which a mere 0.12 minutes could be attributed to the company and its operations. Average airport delays at Geneva were cut from 1.03 to 0.76 minutes per flight, with 0.46 minutes thereof attributable to skyguide. The lower traffic volumes, optimised use of resources and more favourable weather conditions all played their part in this outstanding punctuality performance. capacity to traffic levels, which helped to offset the adverse impact of less favourable weather conditions. Zurich Airport Total ATFM delay Attributable to Attributable to Skyguide in minutes exogenous factors skyguide share % % Geneva Airport Total ATFM delay Attributable to Attributable to Skyguide in minutes exogenous factors skyguide share % % En-route ATFM delay per flight skyguide airspace Source CFMU Airport ATFM delay per flight all Dep/Arr in Switzerland Source CFMU Minutes 1.5 Minutes Exogenous factors Skyguide responsible Exogenous factors Skyguide responsible skyguide Annual Report

14 Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) Skyguide s Aeronautical Information Management consists of three units: Information & Briefing, Data Management & Publications and AFTN/CIDIN Communications. Each provides its own performance data. Information & Briefing The central Information & Briefing function for Switzerland provides flight advisory and preparation services via its selfbriefing and homebriefing facilities, together with an expert service centre. These services and facilities are used primarily by the flight crews and operations units of general aviation companies. The main service provided by the unit is procuring, evaluating and preparing the data required for flight briefings (airspace restrictions, meteorological reports, NOTAMs etc.) from all over the world. The unit is further home to the ATS/AIS Reporting Office (ARO), which receives, processes and distributes flight plans. NOTAMs are exchanged with some 150 international NOTAM units responsible for 175 countries. Change /09 NOTAMs processed % of which SNOWTAMs % Flight plans processed by ARO Switzerland % Messages for air navigation services % Telephone briefings by AIM Service Center Dübendorf % The decline in the number of telephone briefings suggests that customers are making increasing use of the enhanced services now available via the self-briefing and home-briefing facilities. Data Management & Publications Skyguide s Data Management & Publications unit publishes aeronautical information for Switzerland on behalf of the Swiss Confederation and in compliance with international provisions. In addition to TAM reports (NOTAMs, SNOWTAMs etc.), these include static data published in printed form such as AIPs, VFR manuals and aeronautical charts. These static data are now increasingly also provided in digital form. Change /09 NOTAMs published by the NOTAM Office Switzerland % SNOWTAMs published by Swiss aerodromes % KOSIF zones % Firing exercises coordinated between the military and ATM % The unit s AIM Publications & Cartography section published 35 amendments and 19 supplements to AIP and VFR manuals in 2009 (11 % fewer than the previous year) and distributed these to some 800 AIP manual and VFR manual subscribers (14 % fewer than in 2008). Nineteen AICs were also created. ICAO and gliding charts were further revised in 2009, with print runs of and 690 respectively. AFTN/CIDIN Communications Skyguide s AFTN/CIDIN Communications service operates a centre for the exchange of aeronautical messages between air navigation service centres and Swiss aerodromes and airfields on behalf of the Swiss Confederation. The unit is also responsible for message traffic to and from Europe s central service provider (Eurocontrol) and service providers in Switzerland (MeteoSwiss). Message traffic via fixed aeronautical Change telecommunications networks /09 Messages via AFTN (Switzerland) % Messages via CIDIN (international) % 14 skyguide Annual Report 2009

15 Availability of air navigation and instrument landing systems A further criterion by which skyguide s performance is measured is the availability of its technical air traffic management, air navigation and instrument landing systems. Skyguide s objective here is to ensure that the aggregate length of all system malfunctions impacting on operations does not exceed 48 hours per year. In 2009, restrictions had to be imposed on the air traffic using airspace around Geneva for almost two hours following a malfunction in the local flight plan data processing system. The other technical malfunctions which occurred in the course of the year could be rectified by skyguide s maintenance organisation with no major impact on traffic handling. Apart from the brief unavailability of the ILS for Geneva s Runway 23 as a result of heavy snowfall, skyguide s instrument landing systems remained fully functional during planned operating hours throughout the year. Above-average ATCO-hour productivity (Source: Eurocontrol Performance Review Unit: 2007) MUAC EANS Skyguide LVNL Austro Control NAV Portugal (FIR Lisboa) NATS IAA ANS CR DFS PANSA DCAC Cyprus HungaroControl ENAV NAVIAIR DSNA LGS Avinor Finavia LFV/ANS Sweden HCAA SMATSA Belgocontrol Croatia Control DHMI ATSA Bulgaria Aena MATS LPS Oro Navigacija NATA Albania Slovenia Control ROMATSA MK CAA UkSATSE MoldATSA The productivity of an air navigation service provider is a key determiner to measure its cost efficiency. Productivity is defined in terms of the volume of traffic handled per hour: the more traffic an air traffic controller (ATCO) handles in an hour, the higher their productivity. Skyguide is one of the top companies with regard to the productivity of its air traffic controllers. Among air traffic control companies that control approach flights and overflights, skyguide has the second highest productivity, just behind EANS in Estonia which controls around one-tenth of the traffic volume of skyguide. MUAC is active in the upper area control only Financial performance indicators Skyguide s financial performance is judged by three key indicators: 1. financial cost-efficiency 2. total cost of en-route air navigation services per flight 3. a Europewide comparison of the route and approach charges levied. 1. Financial cost-efficiency Eurocontrol determines the financial cost-efficiency of all of Europe s air navigation service providers in its annual ATM Cost-Effectiveness (ACE) Benchmarking Report. Under the broad performance target set by its owner, skyguide is expected to closely match the European average in financial cost-efficiency terms. At a difference of 4 % in 2008 this was almost the case. Costefficiency was EUR 444, compared to a European average of EUR Total cost of en-route air navigation services per flight The total cost of skyguide s en-route air navigation services consists of the costs incurred through handling the civil air traffic concerned plus the cost of the ATFM delays attributable to the company. The latter are calculated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Skyguide s goal here is to be below its own average of the previous five years. The total cost of skyguide s en-route air navigation services in 2009 amounted to EUR 283 per flight, below the previous-five-year average of EUR Europewide comparison of the route and approach charges levied Skyguide s third key yardstick for determining its financial performance is the route and approach charges it levies for its services. These should (after adjustments to take account of the services provided in adjacent areas of non-swiss airspace delegated to its control and of other services for which no compensation is received) be largely in line with the European average. The current absence of any binding method for comparing approach charges within Eurocontrol means that skyguide s achievement of this part of its objective can only be determined to a limited extent. In a European comparison of route charges, skyguide s EUR 53,8 for 2009 was below the European average of EUR Source: Eurocontrol ATM Cost-Effectiveness Benchmarking 2008, 1st draft. This report is usually published 18 months after the end of the calendar year to which it refers. skyguide Annual Report

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17 Management and operations

18 Goal-based strategy implementation Skyguide s basic strategic alignment and thrust are clearly derived from its government mandate. The quality of its services should be continuously improved, because it is the services the company provides that will largely determine the position it holds in Europe s ATM landscape. Political mandate and strategy The Swiss Federal Council prescribes a clear strategic direction for skyguide every four years. This is based on government aviation policy, and is submitted for comment to all the parties involved. Skyguide s strategy translates these government specifications into actions and approaches which also pay due and full regard to additional operational and market considerations. The resulting strategy is thus an expression of Swiss political will that fully accommodates technical and business perspectives and concerns. Corporate performance and European role Skyguide s strategy has two primary focuses: 1. Skyguide strives to maintain its high level of performance, and to continuously and sustainably improve the quality of its services. 2. Skyguide aims to consolidate its activities within Europe, and to secure and maintain a firm position within the European air navigation services market. 1. Performance Skyguide views performance as achieving an optimum balance between safety, capacity, cost-efficiency and sustainability within the overall requirements of a High- Reliability Organisation. Skyguide also sees its performance as a vital yardstick of its ability to play a prominent and effective part in Europe s future air navigation services sector saw the company continue to pursue the implementation plan it had adopted the previous year, with its focus on four key areas: Consolidating a companywide safety culture: Implementing its safety strategy and establishing a companywide safety culture both fully comply with skyguide s demands and expectations of itself as a High- Reliability Organisation. Raising Swiss airspace capacity: Skyguide took major actions to increase staffing levels and modify its structures in response to capacity demand, particularly at its operating units. The company intensified its recruitment and its training activities, and restructured its airspace in Western Switzerland. Swiftly eliminating the present revenue shortfalls: Skyguide continued its efforts to restructure the financing of its services. As well as conducting the rigorous Challenge 07 efficiency-enhancement programme designed to balance its operating and capital spending budgets, the company made a sizeable contribution to two items of proposed legislation that can help remove the present structural deficiencies in how its activities are funded: the amendment, now approved by Swiss voters, to Article 86 of the Swiss Constitution (permitting special funding for Swiss aviation) and the first partial revision of the Federal Aviation Act. A modular corporate model for greater flexibility and closer customer alignment: Skyguide must adopt a more modular framework for its products and services if it is to acquire the flexibility it needs to meet the challenge of Europe s future Single European Sky. With this aim in mind, the company is currently giving every area of its activity a structure that is based on the most adequate organisational model and pays due regard to the area s particular features and needs. In 2009, skyguide laid the foundations for establishing a subsidiary which will specialise in providing air navigation services for the Swiss military, the country s regional aerodromes and lower airspace areas. The company also conducted further modularisation studies for the operational training activities at its Skyguide Training Center and within its Aeronautical Information Management. 2. European development (the Single European Sky and FABEC) Skyguide s further development of its core activities in Europe is focused primarily on implementing the Eurocontrol-led programme to harmonise national air navigation services systems and on the European Commission s drive to consolidate the continent s airspace into a Single European Sky: 18 skyguide Annual Report 2009

19 The Single European Sky The Single European Sky (SES) initiative, led by the European Commission, is intended to raise the overall performance of Europe s air navigation services, primarily by reorganising the continent s currently-fragmented airspace into functional airspace blocks (FABs) defined not along political lines but with maximum regard to operating requirements and technical criteria. The Commission is also keen to see close collaboration between civil and military air navigation services, to maintain airspace sovereignty for the countries involved. Since 2006, Europe s air navigation service providers have been required to secure certification confirming their technical and operational expertise, the efficiency of their safety and quality management, their financial soundness, the appropriateness of their organisation and personnel planning, the adequacy of their insurance cover and more. The FOCA awarded this SES certification to skyguide in December 2006, formally appointing the company as the provider of air navigation services for Swiss airspace. A second raft of SES requirements came into effect in October With these, the European Commission has laid the foundations of the system within which air navigation services are to be offered by the providers concerned. The new package also establishes the structures needed to conduct the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) programme, whose aim is to ensure the coordinated adoption by the continent s air navigation service providers of the future technical and operating system required. Functional Airspace Block Europe Central (FABEC) The European Commission has let the states themselves take the initiative in creating the Single European Sky s new functional airspace blocks or FABs. Since 2006, Switzerland has been involved in the Functional Airspace Block Europe Central or FABEC project, to which six countries France, Germany, the Benelux nations and Switzerland are affiliated along with their air navigation service providers and Eurocontrol in Maastricht. The aim of the project is to create an FAB that extends over the six participants airspace, in line with Single European Sky requirements. The task will include optimising the air navigation services provided therein, by creating infrastructures and procedures that allow the FAB to be managed and monitored as if it were the airspace of a single participating country. The FABEC participants submitted a feasibility study in July 2008 in response to a set of performance objectives that had previously been defined in terms of safety, capacity, operating efficiency, environmental care, economic efficiency and civil-military collaboration. The study clearly showed that the goals specified could be achieved by means of the FABEC project, and concluded that FABEC was not only feasible but also necessary. The six participating FABEC nations and the seven air navigation service providers involved signed a corresponding declaration of intent on 18 November 2008 which moved the programme into its implementation phase. Skyguide within the FABEC project The FABEC collaboration delivered its first tangible results in the course of Night Network and City Pairs are two achievements in which skyguide was actively involved, and which will provide concrete benefits to airspace users in the form of shorter flight routes. Skyguide provided the requisite specialist and management resources from within its existing structures, with no additional expert expense. Skyguide is well represented in FABEC s leadership, too: CEO Daniel Weder is serving as chairman (on a first-among-equals basis) of the ANS Strategic Board, the project s highest body on the air navigation service provider side, which consists of the chief executives of all the participating providers. Involvement in European flight data processing Skyguide resolved in 2006 to sign up to the Franco-Italian Coflight initiative, which is intended to develop a new system that will process flight plan data using standardised Europewide formats and norms. Coflight should help further harmonise the various air traffic management systems both within FABEC and between FABEC and neighbouring air navigation service providers. Location study expanded to included cooperation scenario Skyguide analysed six possible scenarios for its future operating locations in 2009, to determine what positive effect the number and the geographical location(s) of its operating centres might have on its overall business success. Each scenario was compared to the present operating situation, with due and full regard to economic, operational (in both civil and military terms), social and environmental standpoints and considerations. The Board of Directors took due note of the analysis in September 2009 and suggested that a further study be conducted of the cooperation scenario involving skyguide s German and French FABEC partners. The aviation authorities of the three nations involved commissioned their air navigation service providers to conduct a feasibility study on an air traffic management centre jointly operated by all three countries and located in the Swiss/French/German border region. This Border Triangle Study also forms part of the FABEC project portfolio. Once the study has been conducted in 2010, the Board of Directors and skyguide s owner will be able to give their views on the six strategic location scenarios proposed. skyguide Annual Report

20 20 skyguide Annual Report 2009

21 Air navigation services in practice Safety culture and safety strategy developments Safety is skyguide s central mission. And the company s safety culture, together with a safety management system that is certified to comply with all European norms, are the foundations on which skyguide bases the provision of all its services. Skyguide: a High-Reliability Organisation A High-Reliability Organisation (HRO) regards the occurrence of problems and malfunctions as an unavoidable feature of complex organisations and their subsystems. An HRO will strive to develop the skills and capabilities required to anticipate or identify unexpected situations and respond to these in such a way that their undesired ramifications can be eliminated or kept to a minimum. An HRO achieves these skills and capabilities by: Preoccupation with failure An HRO regards problems and malfunctions as unavoidable. It promotes and protects the systematic identification and reporting of observations, problems and malfunctions, endeavours to learn from these systematically and effectively, and communicates the lessons learned throughout its organisation. Reluctance to simplify interpretations An HRO will strive to find out what it does not know. It will endeavour to develop and further communicate as complete and complex an understanding as possible of the system and its problems, and will avoid simplistic interpretations. Sensitivity to operations An HRO will concentrate on ensuring the permanent and sustainable improvement of processes, will endeavour to use its sophisticated understanding of the organisation to ensure that it processes as low in complexity as possible, and will attempt to anticipate problems and malfunctions and prepare for these accordingly. Commitment to resilience An HRO will ensure that any signs of an operational malfunction are identified and responded to as early as possible. It will not attempt to hide or suppress problems, but will aim to identify and tackle them swiftly, to minimise any negative impact they may have. An HRO will also promote those talents and abilities among its employees that enable them to respond appropriately to specific situational needs. Safety culture further developed through comprehensive internal training Strengthening its safety culture is a prime skyguide concern. To this end, the company devised and developed a training course in 2008 with the prime focuses of familiarising attendees with today s safety methods, sensitising them to the need for reciprocal understanding and urging them to adopt and maintain a collaborative approach. All skyguide employees without exception attend this two-day training event. The first such courses were held at the end of 2009, and they will continue until Implementation of the safety strategy Skyguide took various actions in 2009 to enhance and supplement its Safety Management System (SMS). In doing so, it also ensured that its safety strategy for is being implemented according to plan. A new SMS concept One major challenge that skyguide faces in its ongoing further enhancement of its Safety Management System is the fact that Eurocontrol s ESARR international regulations have been published and put into effect at different times, and have thus had to be applied in a step-by-step approach. In view of this, skyguide s safety specialists have devised a new, balanced SMS that can be excellently integrated into the new process landscape, and have successfully established the new system, too. In doing so, they have also revised the structure of the associated documentation. As a result, the full range of skyguide s safety documents can now be accessed via a new intranet safety portal, substantially easing the safety specialists workload and making it easier to maintain an effective overview of this documentation. Deference to expertise In unexpected situations, an HRO will be unafraid to delegate decision-making authority to persons with the requisite specialist expertise, and will promote high degrees of self-confidence among its employees by giving them autonomy and decision-making authority, by ensuring that they understand and appreciate its decisions, and by providing them with adequate and effective feedback. skyguide Annual Report

22 Improved safety assessement methodology and a new database Skyguide introduced an improved means of conducting safety tests on new or changed systems, processes and procedures on 1 April The company has also developed a new database containing all completed safety assessments, the hazards identified, safety objectives and requirements and the actions taken to minimise the risks concerned. The new system enables skyguide to constantly monitor whether the relevant safety requirements continue to be met by changed or newly-introduced systems, processes or procedures, even after these have been incorporated into the company s operations, and until they are subsequently abandoned or decommissioned. A simplified safety improvements overview The company now has an expanded database for collating all the safety improvements deriving from internal or external analyses and reports. This enables better track to be kept of the implementation of the measures concerned. New early-warning system for safety issues and concerns Skyguide has jointly developed a new method of establishing leading indicators of the safety of services provided. The system has been co-devised with Switzerland s Leibstadt and Beznau nuclear power stations and Swiss International Air Lines, and through the support of the School of Applied Psychology at the Northwestern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences in Olten. Skyguide has used the new method, combined with more traditional lagging safety indicators to create a new safety indicator system. The system effectively a monitoring facility contains 14 safety key performance indicators which are regularly measured and compared with their target values. The new approach allows changes or trends to be identified early and appropriate action taken in response. The Safety Steering Group (SSG), which includes the entire Board of Management, discusses the results of this reactive and proactive safety monitoring facility on a quarterly basis. A new concept for compiling hazard registers While Eurocontrol s international regulations stipulate that a safety assessments must be conducted before any introduction of a new process, procedure or system or any modification to an existing one, no such assessments are required of existing processes, procedures and systems that remain unchanged. Unsatisfied with this state of affairs, skyguide has developed a method for determining and registering both the individual and the systemic hazards that exist in an entire air navigation services unit. As a pilot project here, the company compiled a hazard register for its Control Tower & Approach/Departure Control unit at Bern Airport. In a next step, skyguide s safety specialists will develop this into a risk portfolio. The innovative approach enables those in charge of the units concerned to better monitor and reduce the risks that are present within their area of responsibility. Safety in project work Safety assessments form an integral part of any skyguide project. When the company moved its Eastern Switzerland area control centre from Zurich Airport to Dübendorf, and when it restructured the airspace in Western Switzerland, the corresponding carefully-conducted safety assessments were crucial factors in both major projects success. Incident investigations In accordance with the regulations of Switzerland s Federal Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (the BFU ), every case in which two flights fail to maintain the separation minima required must be reported. The reports are submitted by the parties involved: skyguide, the pilots, the airline(s) and/or the Swiss Air Force. The BFU collates the facts, investigates how the incident occurred and publishes a final report. Parallel to this, skyguide s own Safety Management unit will conduct a detailed analysis of the incident and initiate any improvements that seem to be required. The aim of these investigations is to identify any weaknesses in the air or on the ground, learn from mistakes and further enhance flight safety. In 2009, the BFU did not have to analyse a single serious incident in which air navigation services might have been involved. The other incidents not classified as serious are investigated by skyguide. Two such incidents occurred in The number of Category A (serious) and Category B (major) incidents caused by skyguide declined for 2009 compared to the average of the past five years, both in proportion to movements handled and in absolute terms. 1. In accordance with ICAO and Eurocontrol regulations, the severity of an incident is defined using a system of points awarded on the basis of various assessment criteria. Several factors are considered here, such as angle of approach and non-observance of separation minima. Eurocontrol s ESARR 2 Guidance to ATM Safety Regulators distinguishes five categories of incident: A (serious), B (major), C (significant), D (not determined) and E (no safety effect). 22 skyguide Annual Report 2009

23 Operations: core competencies at high performance levels The enhanced organisational structure of skyguide s Operations division proved its worth in 2009, and helped ensure that both its day-to-day operations and its project and planning work for managing and monitoring Swiss airspace remained at high performance and quality levels throughout the year. Dübendorf control centre put into operation After intensive preparations, skyguide started air traffic management operations at its new Dübendorf area control centre on the night of 9 to 10 February The migration of these activities from Zurich Airport was smoothly and seamlessly effected. The relocation was the most complex project that skyguide has ever conducted, and one in which countless employees from Operations, Technical Services and Safety Management were intimately involved. As a result, skyguide s civil and military air navigation services are now under the same roof in operating terms, too. Closer ties with the Swiss Air Force The new arrangements at Dübendorf will help promote closer ties between the management and specialist staff of skyguide s civil and military air traffic management services, as well as contacts with the Swiss Air Force. This in turn should further strengthen the already-good partnership with this key skyguide customer. The company met the 2009 goals it had jointly set with the Swiss Air Force. As in previous years, the skyguide fighter controllers who maintain Switzerland s airspace sovereignty were joined by several further controllers during the annual World Economic Forum in Davos who managed and monitored all traffic in the Davos exclusion zone and to and from the temporary heliport established at Davos-Stilli specially for the event. New airspace structure adopted in Geneva Skyguide adopted a new structure for the airspace above Western Switzerland at the end of December The revised sector structure enables flights to be managed even more efficiently, and this in turn will give skyguide the capacity it needs to handle the rising traffic volumes expected in the years ahead. A similar project will be conducted for the Zurich region s airspace in Airport systems improved by involving all partners Punctuality was further improved at Zurich Airport in 2009 thanks to collaborative decision-making (CDM), an approach by which all the various airport partners are urged to work together to enhance operating processes and procedures and thereby increase airport capacity. At Geneva Airport, skyguide participated in a Eurocontrol-supported study which, after a detailed analysis of all the workflows and procedures involved, should also see the introduction of the CDM approach. Air traffic complexity: a European comparison Structural complexity Finavia Avinor ENAV LFV/ANS Sweden NAVIAIR LPS PANSA Slovenia Control (Souce: Eurocontrol Performance Review Unit: 2008) Belgocontrol Oro Navigacija NAV Portugal Aena DSNA MoldATSA LGS FIR Lisboa) Croatia DCAC Cyprus DHMI Control HungaroControl HCAA MK CAA MATS UkSATSE EANS ROMATSA SMATSA NATA Albania IAA ANS CR ATSA Bulgaria DFS NATS Austro skyguide Control MUAC LVNL Traffic density skyguide Annual Report

24 Harmonised glider, hang glider and paraglider provisions Having redefined the corresponding procedures for Bern and Grenchen airports in previous years, skyguide revised its agreements with the Segelfluggruppe St. Gallen gliding club and brought these in line with ICAO provisions. The company also took the first steps to do the same for Locarno Airport in spring ICAO-compliant agreements were also concluded with the Alpnach, Buochs, Emmen and Meiringen paragliding organisations in the course of the year. Spinoff strategy further pursued Skyguide continued its work to establish new subsidiary companies. The company s Military Air Navigation Services & Regional Aerodromes unit acquired its first experience as a profit centre from the start of 2009 onwards. The Aeronautical Information Management and Skyguide Training Center units also saw preparatory work largely completed in the course of the year to enable them, too, to move to profitcentre status in the first quarter of Pandemic Business Continuity Plan The outbreak and swift global spread of the Influenza A/H1N1 virus prompted skyguide to activate a Pandemic Task Force and revise its Business Continuity Plan. The company took timely action to protect its own employees, and conducted an active exchange of views and ideas with its fellow air navigation service providers and a nuclear power plant operator. At no time were skyguide s operations restricted owing to flu-related absences. The experience, and the lessons learned from it, should prove invaluable in coping with any further pandemic in the years ahead. New operating concept for digitising the aviation data chain In response to the European Commission s new regulatory provisions for ensuring the quality and interoperability of aviation data, skyguide devised a new operating concept for establishing and maintaining a digitised data chain in Switzerland. The new concept lays a sound foundation for modifying existing aviation data processes and providing the infrastructure required. The digitisation of aviation data can make a major contribution to ensuring greater safety, efficiency and capacity. Collaboration with France s aeronautical information service Skyguide entered into a collaboration with France s Service de l information aéronautique (SIA) for marketing aviation products online. The new collaboration has also enhanced general coordination and harmonised data exchanges and publication rules for cross-border activities. In the event of any systems unavailability at SIA, skyguide will now provide Air France with the NOTAMs it requires. A memorandum of understanding was also concluded to put the present Franco- Swiss aeronautical information management collaboration on a formal footing. 24 skyguide Annual Report 2009

25 skyguide Annual Report

26 Charges kept stable despite revenue declines In a currently-difficult economic environment, skyguide has kept its charges stable, taking various targeted actions to offset lost revenue. In adopting this course, the company is also helping to strengthen Switzerland s appeal as a place of aviation activity. Operating result Traffic volumes for 2009 showed a clear year-on-year decline. Skyguide controlled a total of 1.15 million flights, 7.2 % fewer than the 1.24 million of the previous year. On a brighter note, the fall in traffic volumes did combine with various capacityraising actions to produce a new punctuality record for the year, with 95 % of flights handled free of delays. Tangible traffic decline The numbers of flights handled by skyguide in 2009 were dominated by the substantial decline in overall traffic volumes in the wake of the general global economic and financial crisis. With an average of flights handled per day (and a peak of flights recorded on 10 July), skyguide s daily traffic volumes were well below their prior-year equivalents of flights a day and a peak of flights (on 27 June). Daily traffic levels were still below those of 2008 at year-end, with no tangible recovery yet in sight. Movements down in all sectors The number of movements it controls is a key indicator of the workload being handled by an air traffic management centre. For 2009 these volumes declined across the board, at both skyguide s area control centres in Geneva and Zurich (down 8.1 %) and at airport arrivals and departures (down 5.5 %). Revenues declined accordingly: route charge revenue was down 4.4 % and approach charge revenue fell by 4.0 %. En-route traffic, which accounts for most of the movements handled by skyguide s two area control centres, felt the impact of the crisis somewhat more than traffic to and from Switzerland. Zurich and Geneva, the two major international airports whose traffic is managed by skyguide, both reported declines in operating volumes, however; and with the crisis hitting business aviation particularly hard, Geneva Airport saw the more substantial decline. Cost-saving and stabilisation measures Faced with the fall in revenues, the Board of Management has been taking various actions to stabilise the company s financial position since December These efforts have primarily taken the form of four packages of cost economies focusing on across-the-board budget cuts, renegotiating contracts with key suppliers and compensation through time off (rather than cash) for certain employee categories. The prime objective in all these endeavours was to maintain the cost underrecovery for 2009 at the level envisaged in the Five-Year Financial Plan. This in turn is intended to safeguard the efforts to return the company to an even financial keel, just as the Swiss people and the country s political authorities are deciding on measures to rectify the structural inadequacies behind the present revenue shortfall particularly on a facility to finance those services provided by skyguide at regional aerodromes and in foreign airspace assigned to its control which are not (or are only partially) currently remunerated. Cumulative cost underrecovery Skyguide s cumulative cost underrecovery for 2009 amounted to CHF , compared to CHF for the previous year. This amount should be gradually reduced over the next few years, however, as the actions described above come into effect. Exceptional actions in exceptional circumstances The first phase of the actions taken by skyguide in response to its falling revenues, which was decided in December 2008, was an across-the-board reduction in 2009 operating costs by 3 % or CHF 10 million. The company also adopted a far stricter approach to creating new positions. The second raft of measures, which was unveiled in January 2009, was designed to offset the projected CHF 20 million in lost revenues. The actions here were primarily intended to have a short-term impact, and focused on: Reducing the range of current projects and project costs Certain non-priority projects were deferred (or even cancelled). A substantial reduction in external costs The range and volumes of activities conducted with external support were tangibly reduced. Skyguide also needed to enlist the support of its suppliers to achieve further cost reductions. A systematic reduction in outstanding vacation and overtime This enabled the company to substantially reduce its year-end provisions for outstanding vacation and overtime. 26 skyguide Annual Report 2009

27 The third range of actions taken involved the company s AOT personnel, who agreed in June 2009 to a 2.75 % reduction in their performance-based salary component for 2009 and In return, these personnel were awarded six additional days of vacation, and their present collective labour agreement was extended by a further year. The fourth raft of measures was introduced in October Here the company enabled its employees, under certain conditions, to take early retirement or reduce their current degree of employment. The options, which are offered on a voluntary basis, should further help the company in its longer-term efforts to return to a sound financial foundation. Savings in 2010, too All in all, the four economy packages helped reduce skyguide s costs by CHF 20 million. Some of the measures such as the reduction in outstanding vacation and overtime were of a one-off nature, and their benefits will not be felt again. Others will, as far as possible, be continued in Further actions, such as the relocation of the company s Eastern Switzerland area control centre from Zurich Airport to Dübendorf, helped save rental costs of CHF 2 million in 2009 and will save CHF 5.7 million a year on this cost item from 2010 onwards. Efficiency enhancement programme completed ahead of schedule The Challenge 07 efficiency enhancement programme launched at the end of 2006 was almost fully implemented by the end of All in all, the programme has engineered structural cost savings of CHF 17 million a year. Challenge 07 was largely concluded by year-end, nearly 18 months ahead of schedule. The last of its actions, which should add some CHF 24 million to bottom-line results, will be implemented by the end of 2010, though some of them will take a little longer for their full benefit to be felt. Financial result Skyguide s financial result for 2009 was a tangible improvement on the previous year, thanks largely to the inclusion of unrealised profits deriving from the revaluation of the market value of the company s collateralised debt obligation (CDO). The CHF 22 million unrealised profit here compares to a CHF 56 million loss for Political proposals to eliminate the current funding shortfall Article 86 of the Swiss Constitution On 29 November 2009, some 65 % of the Swiss electorate voted to approve an article in the Swiss Constitution that lays the foundation for special funding to be provided for the country s aviation. Under the new provision, the proceeds from the tax levied on the mineral oil consumed in aviation activities will be used to finance various safety, security and environmental measures in the aviation field. Some of these funds are also expected to be used to cover skyguide s present revenue shortfall on the services it provides at Swiss regional aerodromes. The company is now working with the authorities and other stakeholder groups on the implementation of the new provision. First partial revision of the Federal Aviation Act The first partial revision of the Swiss Federal Aviation Act is a further skyguide priority. The present draft legislation drawn up by the Federal Council here would see skyguide compensated for the services it currently provides free of charge in the adjoining foreign airspaces areas that have been assigned to its control. Such compensation would be provided by the Swiss Confederation itself for an interim period. The draft legislation will be presented to parliament in the course of Outlook for is likely to be another difficult year. Skyguide must continue to pursue or even intensify its endeavours to reduce its operating costs, with the aim of lowering these by a further CHF 10 million to achieve the goal specified in the Five-Year Financial Plan. While a slight recovery can be expected in flight movements 3 % for en-route and 1.3 % for approaching/departing traffic this will not fully offset the revenue decline deriving from the low reference basis of the 2009 balance sheet. If the Swiss franc continues its present gain in strength against the euro, 2010 will be a challenging year on the currency front, too: skyguide earns two-thirds of its revenues in euros, while 95 % of its costs are incurred in Swiss francs. Cash flow Thanks to the economy measures taken, skyguide largely maintained its liquidity well above the minimum level prescribed by the Board of Directors. As a result, the company did not need to seek the additional external financing which had originally been foreseen. Cash flow from operating activities remained stable at CHF 46 million. Investments in fixed assets were reduced by CHF 25 million, following the completion and entry-into-service of the new Dübendorf control centre and the streamlining of the company s ongoing-projects portfolio. A CHF 15 million short-term loan was repaid. skyguide Annual Report

28 Technology and innovation Air traffic can only be managed and monitored safely and efficiently using high-performance technical facilities. So an advanced and reliable technical infrastructure is the backbone of any air navigation service provider. High-quality infrastructure further maintained and expanded In 2009, skyguide again attached great importance to the continuous further development of its technical facilities. All in all, some CHF 37.5 million was invested in renewing and expanding systems and infrastructure, including CHF 2.7 million alone on installations for the new Dübendorf Air Navigation Service Center. In focusing its internal resources on putting the new centre into operation, the company intentionally deferred certain other projects. Needless to say, such action was taken at no operating risk. New air navigation services centre put into operation in Dübendorf The successful relocation of its area control centre for Eastern Switzerland from Zurich Airport to Dübendorf was the most comprehensive project in skyguide s history. The move required meticulous planning, extensive systems testing and thorough safety analyses. The cutover the gradual transfer of functions from Kloten to Dübendorf was effected on the night of 9-10 February following a detailed plan. Skyguide s air navigation services remained fully available in the quality required throughout the cutover period: by taking various special actions in both technical and operating terms, the company effectively eliminated any possible problems and fully maintained air traffic safety throughout. One particular challenge was posed by the networks involved: totally reliable connections had to be constantly and flexibly maintained between the two centres during the transfer period. The project was also completed within the budgeting parameters originally planned. A new Dübendorf testing centre To keep the systems in use for its operations strictly separate from its testing and validation systems, skyguide has created a complete independent air traffic management system close to the new Dübendorf Air Navigation Service Center which can be used for testing and development purposes. The new facility ensures that all such work, along with the training of technical personnel, can be performed independently of the systems used for the company s day-to-day operations. Communications Radio transmitter at Zurich Airport The present radio transmitter at Zurich Airport will need to be moved, in view of new building work planned on the airport site. Preparations for the relocation have begun, and the new transmitter should enter service in the course of Communication networks Skyguide continued to steadily develop its local (LAN) and wide (WAN) area networks in The SETINET voice and data communications network now connects the skyguide organisation with France s air navigation service provider. The further development of the company s own network is vital, not least in view of the steady deterioration in the quality of the services offered by commercial telecommunications providers. Skyguide also replaced the radio communications connections between its Geneva area control centre and its La Dôle and Le Cunay radar facilities. This action was taken because, under new international regulations, the frequencies previously used are now no longer available. 28 skyguide Annual Report 2009

29 Navigation New instrument landing system for the Swiss Air Force Skyguide is serving as general contractor for the installation of new instrument landing systems at military airfields in Switzerland, a role it performs on behalf of armasuisse, the Swiss military s procurement organisation. The planning here was commenced in 2009; the overall programme will extend over several years. Surveillance Reliable radar facilities All skyguide s radar facilities met all the relevant technical and operational requirements throughout Skyguide constantly monitors the quality of the data provided by all its own radars and those outside Switzerland of which it also makes use. This continuous control has been instrumental in improving the quality of its external radar sources also saw a new service level agreement devised and concluded with Italy. Runway collision warning system provided at Geneva Skyguide established a runway collision warning system at Geneva Airport in December The new facility assists the airport s tower controllers by warning them of any unintended runway incursion. A similar system will be installed at Zurich Airport in Data processing and display systems The Stripless Operations study The controllers responsible for managing and monitoring traffic in the upper airspace of Western Switzerland have been operating with a so-called stripless system since The paperless system presents controllers with all the key data on the flights in their charge directly on their screens. Skyguide now aims to extend this stripless approach to lower airspace sectors and to its Dübendorf area control centre, and has been conducting an implementation study to this end. The study is being jointly conducted with Eurocontrol: Europe s umbrella air traffic services organisation is also interested in the stripless approach, since it automates coordination tasks previously conducted by phone and can thus help increase system capacity. New short-term conflict alert (STCA) safety system After comprehensive trials, skyguide put an improved system warning of potentially dangerous air traffic situations into operation in the course of The system has already substantially reduced the number of false alarms. Ensuring compliance with relevant legal provisions The technical systems operated by air navigation service providers are subject to more and more new legal requirements. While the provisions for communications, navigation and surveillance have long been issued by ICAO and are also consistently observed, the legal provisions and parameters relating to data processing systems are relatively new. Skyguide is devoting extensive time and energy here, to show that the systems concerned all fully comply with such legal requirements. skyguide Annual Report

30 30 skyguide Annual Report 2009

31 Employee skills and social policy Skyguide s management, employees and unions must cultivate a close and constructive collaboration if the company is to fulfil its public mandate. This is why skyguide attaches so much value to pursuing a progressive and socially-responsible personnel policy. Equality of opportunity Skyguide adheres to the principle that sex, origin, sexual orientation, religion, nationality and age must never be used as assessment criteria in its employee recruitment or its career development policies. In all such matters, the company considers solely the skills and the knowledge that the position concerned demands. Skyguide also views diversity as an opportunity to stimulate an exchange of ideas and instil the company with a dynamic attitude and approach. Skyguide is thus wholly committed to the principle of equal opportunities, as well as to respecting the dignity of every individual. Industrial peace A company which provides a public service is particularly in the spotlight in economic and socio-political terms. A wellfunctioning social partnership that is practised every working day is thus as important to Switzerland s air navigation service provider as it is to its counterparts elsewhere. On top of this, the objectives laid down by the Swiss Federal Council explicitly state that skyguide should pursue a progressive social policy. A culture of dialogue Any service company must be able to draw on an innovative, productive and above all motivated workforce if it is to survive in the longer term. In view of this, skyguide aims in its social partnership to create a positive working atmosphere that provides each employee with opportunities for individual development and offers the workforce as a whole the chance to survive and thrive in an increasingly open market arena. To achieve and maintain these parameters, skyguide seeks and cultivates dialogue with its various social partners, and strives constantly to further enhance its terms and conditions of employment. The Board of Management conducted several workshops with the company s unions in 2009 to put their social partnership on a new foundation. Confidence, trust and transparency were the prime focuses here. Social partners Skyguide s social partners comprise six professional associations and trade unions: four air traffic controllers associations and two national unions representing the company s administrative, operational and technical personnel. Company doctors The physical and mental well-being of its employees is a prime skyguide concern. The company therefore offers all its personnel the services of its own company doctors, whose duties include advising employees on medical, psychological and social problems and concerns, with the assistance of external psychologists, counsellors and advisers if required. The introduction of Eurocontrol s ESARR 5 norm has extended the activities of these company doctors, who now have an expanded brief to keep employees informed on various matters, such as the possible effects of certain medications. Healthcare Commission Skyguide s Healthcare Commission takes up and discusses health issues within the company and acts as an advisory body to the Board of Management in this field, proposing actions to maintain and promote the health of employees and developing these to the decision-making stage. The Commission can also be mandated to implement any actions resolved, and is assigned the resources and authorities to do so. The Healthcare Commission is composed of equal numbers of employer and employee representatives, together with the company doctors. Maternity provisions Skyguide offers mothers-to-be the option of taking voluntary pregnancy leave on a full salary from two months before the birth of their child. Taking pregnancy leave has no impact on the length of the four-month maternity leave to which the employee is entitled after the child s birth. Half of this maternity leave can be taken by the father instead if he is also a skyguide employee and provided the relevant provisions of employment law are observed. All mothers at skyguide are also basically entitled to take unpaid leave of up to one year after the birth of their child or work part-time. skyguide Annual Report

32 The skyguide workforce Personnel numbers as of 1 January 2010 (in full-time equivalents) Regional By division Geneva Dübendorf airports Total Directorate* Operations Engineering & Technical Services Corporate Development Finance, Human Resources & Services Safety, Security, Quality Total Apprentices and trainees Temporary staff * Includes Corporate Communication. Personnel numbers (in full-time equivalents) Women Men Total Ratio : : : : : 3.5 The number of people employed by skyguide in 2009 was at 1 % above its prior-year equivalent. The increase is attributable to the recruitment of further air traffic controllers and the doubling of the number of training courses held at the Skyguide Training Center. Part-time employees Skyguide is well aware that part-time employment can offer a greater balance between professional and private life, and has been supporting individual requests for reduced working hours for some years now. In the case of air traffic controllers, special provisions apply: since any employment of less than 90 working days a year (60 %) would result in the loss of their licence under FOCA regulations, no controller is permitted to work less than this minimum amount. The company also introduced a new option in 2009 under which employees could elect to temporarily reduce their working hours by 10 % to 20 % between November 2009 and October 2010 with no corresponding reduction in their social security benefits or their holidays. Degrees of employment/part-time working (by headcount) Degree of employment W M W M W M W M > 90 % % < 50 % skyguide Annual Report 2009

33 Salary system Skyguide pursues an attractive, coherent and fair salary policy to ensure that the company can recruit the best-skilled and best-qualified individuals on the employment market and secure high levels of employee loyalty. This policy is based on analytical assessments of the functions concerned, determining salary levels through national and international market comparisons, an individual, unit and corporate performance-based salary component, the assumption that experience and individual responsibility will permit development within the career path chosen, a recognition of overall company performance, attractive, contemporary and competitive social benefits and the autonomously-managed Skycare company pension scheme. Skyguide s total personnel cost (including social-security contributions) in 2009 amounted to CHF million. Employees subject to the company s AOT collective labour agreement for administrative, operational and technical personnel received an average annual salary of CHF This amount includes a performancebased variable and individual salary component, which is derived from the degree of achievement of the goals set at the beginning of the year and accounts for a maximum of 6 % of the basic salary. For 2009, the average performance-based salary component awarded amounted to CHF Further compensation may also be paid for irregular working hours, night or Sunday work and other specific activities. Employees subject to the collective labour agreement for air traffic controllers (i.e. the company s air traffic controller corps) received an average annual salary of CHF in This amount includes an annual allowance averaging CHF for the special responsibilities they bear. Further compensation is also paid for irregular working hours, night or Sunday work and other specific activities. The average annual salary paid to employees with management contracts of employment (excluding the Board of Management) in 2009 amounted to CHF This amount includes a performancebased salary component derived from the degree to which corporate, unit and individual goals are achieved. This variable salary component can make up 12 %, 18 % or 24 % of the employee s basic salary, depending on their function and responsibilities. The average variable salary component paid in 2009 amounted to CHF Skyguide s management salaries fully comply with the guidelines laid down by the Swiss Confederation. Close collaboration within the CLA commissions The further development of skyguide s collective labour agreements (CLAs) with its AOT and controller staff is assured through the corresponding CLA commissions, on which the Board of Management, Human Resources and union representatives regularly meet for a full and frank exchange of views. This dialogue is also maintained between commission meetings. Focus on enhancing safety-relevant skills While the Challenge 07 efficiency enhancement programme has been focused on training activities, the main HR emphasis in 2009 was on sustainably improving the skills of those employees who are subject to Eurocontrol s ESARR5 norm. With the exception of safety training, the company s training activities were generally reined-in as a cost economy. Intensified activities at the Skyguide Training Center (STC) The Skyguide Training Center successfully switched its air traffic controller training programme to four course commencements a year, and is currently training up to 125 future controllers at times. The remaining free capacity in 2009 was used to provide courses on behalf of air navigation service providers outside Switzerland, ensuring that the centre operated at full capacity throughout the year. Skyguide Training Center recognised as a höhere Fachschule The Skyguide Training Center (STC) secured formal recognition as a höhere Fachschule (college of higher vocational education and training) for traffic and transport in December As a result, from 2010 onwards, all air traffic controllers who complete their basic STC training will receive a Swiss federal diploma. The five-year process which had preceded such recognition had required the STC to submit a curriculum for its controller training and align all its training standards to höhere Fachschule requirements. The STC will now submit its training for air navigation services employees (ANSEs) to the same recognition process between 2010 and skyguide Annual Report

34 Intensive recruitment activities The company received 500 applications for its air traffic controller training in From these, the STC selected 40 candidates for the demanding training programme. A further twelve individuals were awarded places on the centre s air navigation services employee course. New training concept for air navigation services employees The STC added a new course for air navigation services employees (ANSE) to its training programme in 2009, following the approval of the corresponding curriculum by Switzerland s Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET). The new two-year course also offers trainees the option of specialising in aeronautical information management or in air traffic management support. The first class began their course in November new licensed air traffic controllers and five air navigation services employees A total of 28 graduate air traffic controllers were newly introduced to skyguide s ATM operations in They have since been working as fully-fledged controllers in the units to which they have been assigned. Five air navigation services employees also completed their training. Further progress towards STC autonomy Skyguide laid the foundations in 2009 to operate its Training Center as an autonomous business entity. These included creating total cost transparency, based on agreements between the STC and the company s operational AIM and ATM units. The STC is also free and able to offer its full range of air navigation service and airport management service provider training products and services to external customers at appropriate market rates. Training hours in 2009 in hours Personnel development Initial and further Engineering & Technical Services training Initial and further Operations training Total companywide Average training hours per employee in Apprenticeships Commercial apprenticeships* W M Total Average years of service (at the end of 2009) Companyin years W M wide skyguide Annual Report 2009

35 skyguide Annual Report

36 Protecting the environment Ensuring efficient (and thus resource-saving) air traffic management is a cornerstone of skyguide s basic operating mandate. The company works actively both locally and in international bodies to help minimise the environmental impact of air traffic activities. Environmental guidelines now in effect The aviation industry is devoting itself more and more to environmental issues and concerns. The European Union s action in including air transport in its legal mechanism to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions has been a key development here. The air transport sector now finds itself facing ambitious environmental goals, which are viewed partly as a threat to its further development and partly as a genuine opportunity to improve its overall efficiency. Skyguide is carefully monitoring all these developments, and introduced its own Environmental Policy at the end of 2008 which will ensure that sustainability will remain a constant consideration and concern within its overall Quality Management System saw the company take its first steps in establishing its own Environmental Management System (EMS); this will now be further developed in Significant contributions to international bodies The ecological impact of air traffic is an international problem that demands a global response. The environmental objectives set for air traffic by the regulatory authorities affect all the parties involved in the aviation sector. The air navigation service providers plan to play their part by further enhancing their efficiency. Skyguide is actively involved in endeavours to devise concrete solutions here, and plays significant roles in international projects (like FABEC and the SES) and organisations (such as CANSO and Eurocontrol). Efficient air traffic management reduces harmful greenhouse-gas emissions Any new flight paths and procedures which are submitted to skyguide for evaluation should ideally reduce both the length and the noise emissions of the flights which will use them. Skyguide strives to guide each flight to its destination as fast and cost-effectively as possible while paying full and consistent regard to all safety considerations. The more efficiently a flight can be handled, the less fuel it will consume, and thus the fewer climate-damaging greenhouse gases it will emit. Despite a sizeable increase in air traffic volumes in recent years, skyguide is determined to maintain its high performance levels in this respect. Collaborating with all aviation partners Efficiency gains at skyguide are primarily achieved by working even more closely with all the other parties involved in the aviation sector. Having pioneered civil-military air navigation services collaboration, the company also works actively with airports and devises tools and procedures to further improve overall system performance. Skyguide is also constantly involved in various joint projects with organisations beyond Switzerland s borders to identify new means of optimising the economic efficiency of flight operations and minimising their environmental impact. Engine start-up shortly before departure Pilots at airports in Switzerland do not receive permission to start their engines until shortly before departure. Only after ATC clearance has been issued will the airport operator s apron control authorise a flight to start its engines. This process, which calls for close collaboration between skyguide and the airport authority, prevents flights waiting for long periods with their engines running, unnecessarily using fuel and generating harmful emissions. 36 skyguide Annual Report 2009

37 All electromagnetic radiation maxima strictly observed The Swiss Federal Council introduced a new Ordinance on Non-Ionising Radiation (NISV) on 23 December 1999 to protect people from harmful electromagnetic radiation. The ordinance defines threshold emission levels below which current knowledge suggests that no harm can be caused, and is also applicable to various skyguide facilities. Skyguide operates a wide range of electronic installations such as radar, radio and navigation facilities to provide its air navigation services, and many of these function by sending and receiving electromagnetic signals. The radiation emitted by every one of these facilities is calculated, measured and periodically re-checked. Skyguide keeps all its radiation emissions strictly below the maxima specified in the NISV, because it is convinced that both local populations and its own employees have a right to maximum protection from such radiation in their day-to-day work and lives. FABEC will lead to increased flight effiency and thus to an improved ecological footprint of air traffic. More information Reduced energy consumption at the control centres Providing air navigation services is not in itself an energyintensive activity, and skyguide s emissions are correspondingly small. Despite this, however, the company makes consistent efforts to minimise its energy use as can be seen by the actions taken at its Geneva operations and in the forward-looking energy concept adopted for the new Air Navigation Service Center in Wangen near Dübendorf. Energy consumption at Geneva has been reduced by 20 % over the past few years, and skyguide constantly monitors its energy consumption throughout Switzerland to keep it as low as possible. The experience gained in Geneva has been channelled into the energy concept for the new Air Navigation Service Center in Wangen: with waste-heat recovery, free cooling and state-of-the-art refrigeration systems, the energy consumption for the new facility is well below Switzerland s Minergie low-energy standards. Unlike conventional alternatives, the new concept does not produce any pollutant emissions. Skyguide further promotes energy savings by encouraging its staff to use public transport to and from work and, in doing so, makes a concrete contribution to improving air quality around the country s airports. Open communications on all fuel dumping Skyguide actively communicates all cases in which an aircraft has been obliged to jettison fuel in its airspace, a function it performs on behalf of the FOCA. Fuel dumping, which is effected to bring the aircraft down to a safe landing weight when a technical problem causes the flight to be aborted, is always performed at a prescribed minimum altitude. Responsibility for ensuring that the corresponding regulations are observed, and for monitoring the environmental impact of these actions, lies with the FOCA. skyguide Annual Report

38 Corporate governance The Board of Directors Guy Emmenegger Member since 2004 Born in Guy Emmenegger is an attorney and a partner in a legal practice. He was elected Chairman of the Board in He also chairs the Board s Compensation and Public Affairs Committees. Bernhard Müller Member since 2009 Born in Major General Bernhard Müller is Deputy Commander of the Swiss Air Force. He was elected to the Board of Directors as its Deputy Chairman in He is also a member of the Board s Projects Committee. Urs Althaus Member since 2003 Born in Urs Althaus holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from the Zurich Federal Institute of Technology and the RWTH in Aachen, Germany. The owner of AMS Management Services GmbH, he was elected to the Board of Directors in He chairs the Board s Projects Committee. Reto Hunger Member since 2003 Pierre Moreillon Member since 2000 Born in Pierre Moreillon holds a doctorate in law and is a partner in a legal practice. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2000, and is a member of the Board s Finance & Audit, Compensation and Public Affairs Committees. Urs M. Sieber Member since 2003 Born in Urs M. Sieber previously Head of Ground Handling Worldwide at Swissport International Ltd. is now member of his board. Elected to the skyguide Board of Directors in 2003, he is a member of the Board s Finance & Audit, Compensation and Public Affairs Committees. Hans-Peter Strodel Member since 2007 Born in Hans-Peter Strodel holds a doctorate in business administration and was Head of Finance and a member of the Executive Management of Swiss Post until mid He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2007, and chairs the Finance & Audit Committee. Born in Reto Hunger joined the then Radio Schweiz AG in 1973, and was a Zurich Tower/Approach watch supervisor on his retirement in He was elected to serve as the employees representative on the Board of Directors in 2003, and is a member of the Board s Projects Committee. 38 skyguide Annual Report 2009

39 The Board of Management Urs Ryf Roger Gaberell (Communications) Robert Stadler Daniel Weder Francis Schubert Jeannette Haus (Head of Staff CEO) Marc R. Bohren Simon Maurer Daniel Weder CEO Born in The holder of an MBA from IMD Lausanne, Daniel Weder spent many years at Swissair and Swiss International Air Lines, ultimately as the latter s Managing Director Airport Services & Operations Steering. With his extensive knowledge of the aviation business, he was a key integration figure in Swiss s difficult early years. He joined skyguide as CEO in Francis Schubert Corporate Development and Deputy CEO Born in Francis Schubert is a qualified air traffic controller and holds a doctorate in law. He joined the company in 1982 and has been a member of the Board of Management since He also teaches aviation law at the Institute for Air & Space Law at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and at the law faculty of Lausanne University. Marc R. Bohren Finance, Human Resources & Services Born in Marc R. Bohren holds a master s degree from the CPCG together with various US commercial and stock-exchange qualifications. After working in the banking sector in Switzerland and the USA for several years, he was appointed CFO of an international food corporation. He joined skyguide in 1999, and has been a member of the Board of Management since Simon Maurer Safety, Security, Quality Born in Simon Maurer holds a degree in physics from the University of Basel and a post-graduate diploma in business administration from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. After several years with Swissair and Swiss International Air Lines both as a short- and long-haul pilot and as a project leader within Flight Operations, he was appointed Deputy Aviation Safety Officer at the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy & Communications. He joined skyguide as Head of Safety, Security & Quality and a member of the Board of Management at the beginning of Urs Ryf Operations Born in Urs Ryf graduated in business administration from the University of Bern and holds an Executive MBA from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. He began his professional career as a full-time pilot with the Swiss Air Force. He joined skyguide in 2000, and oversaw the integration of the company s civil and military air navigation services. He was appointed Head of Operations and a member of the Board of Management in Robert Stadler Engineering & Technical Services Born in Robert Stadler was educated at the Kollegium Disentis and in Zurich and St. Gallen. After more than 20 years working in information technology and IT management for various major providers of financial services in Switzerland, he joined skyguide as Head of Engineering & Technical Services and a member of the Board of Management on 1 August skyguide Annual Report

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41 The management of the company Legal form Skyguide is a joint-stock company under Swiss law, and performs a legal mandate bestowed upon it by the Swiss Confederation. Skyguide s mandate requires the company to ensure the safe, efficient and cost-effective management of Switzerland s air traffic. The mandate, which is specified in Article 40 of the Federal Aviation Act and Article 2 of the Ordinance on Air Navigation Services, extends to providing civil and military air navigation services, an aeronautical information service, telecommunications services and the technical services required to install, operate and maintain the company s air traffic management and air navigation systems. Being a non-profit-oriented company, skyguide does not distribute dividends, but passes on any profits it makes to its customers through reductions in the charges levied for the services it provides. Group structure and shareholders The skyguide group includes skyguide subsidiaries SkySoft-ATM SA, Meyrin (founded on 25 January 2001 and 76 %-owned), swisscontrol SA (founded on 20 April 2001 and 100 %-owned) and skynav SA, Awans, Belgium (founded on 3 January 2001 and 100 %-owned). All skyguide s subsidiaries are unlisted companies subject to civil law. Under the company s Articles of Incorporation, at least 51 % of skyguide s share capital must be held by the Swiss Confederation. Capital structure The Swiss Confederation currently holds % of the company s share capital. The share capital of CHF 140 million consists of fully-paid-up registered shares with a nominal value of CHF 10 each. The company s capital structure remained unchanged in No preference shares were issued. The General Meeting The General Meeting is the highest body of the company and has the following non-transferable powers and authorities: to adopt and amend the Articles of Incorporation; to elect and dismiss the Board of Directors, its Chairman and the statutory auditors; to approve the annual report and financial statements; to discharge the Board of Directors and the Board of Management from their responsibility for the conduct of business; to pass resolutions on any other issues which are assigned to its sole authority by law or under the company s Articles of Incorporation or are presented to it by the Board of Directors; and to wind up the company. The General Meeting is quorate if a minimum of two-thirds of the company s shares are represented. skyguide Annual Report

42 The Board of Directors The Board of Directors comprises a maximum of seven members, each elected by the General Meeting for a three-year term of office. They may be re-elected. Board members retire from the Board after serving for a maximum of twelve years. The majority of Board members must be Swiss nationals resident in Switzerland. The Board of Directors is empowered to pass resolutions on any business which is not the sole preserve of the General Meeting or another corporate body. The Board is responsible for the ultimate management of the company. Under the company s bylaws, the Board of Directors may delegate business to committees within its ranks. The Board currently has four such committees: the Projects Committee, which is commissioned, inter alia, to advise and support the company s Technical Services and Operations project teams and draw up corresponding recommendations for the full Board s consideration and decision; the Finance & Audit Committee, which is tasked with preparing Board business in these fields (relating to the budget, annual financial statements, financing issues, external auditors and analyses of internal controlling systems); the Compensation Committee, which is empowered to determine the compensation paid to the CEO, and also considers the compensations proposed for the Board of Management members and submits these to the full Board for decision; and the Public Affairs Committee, which monitors developments in the regulatory and political environment and proposes actions to be taken in information and public relations terms. The Board of Management Skyguide s Board of Management consists of the CEO and the heads of the Operations, Engineering & Technical Services, Finance, Human Resources & Services, Safety, Security & Quality and Corporate Development divisions. The CEO is also empowered to appoint further management members to form an Enlarged Board of Management. The Board of Management is responsible, under the leadership of the CEO, for the management of the company within the parameters of its statutory duties and authorities. The CEO The CEO is responsible for leading the company and thus for defining and achieving the corporate objectives outlined by the company s owners and its Board of Directors. The CEO also represents the company towards the authorities, the public, its customers, its shareholders, its suppliers and its unions and staff associations. Compensation policy The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors fixes the compensations to be paid to the CEO and the further members of the Board of Management and submits these to the full Board of Directors for decision. The compensation paid to the Chairman of the Board of Directors and further Board members is fixed by the company s owners (following a federal resolution of 21 December 2007), and the compensation paid to the CEO is also approved by the owners. The fixed compensation paid to the Chairman of the Board for 2009 amounted to CHF , while the fixed compensation paid to the further Board members for 2009 amounted to CHF each. The total compensation paid to all members of the Board of Management including the CEO for 2009 amounted to CHF , plus short- and long-term performancebased compensation and other compensation amounts totalling CHF The highest fixed compensation paid to an individual Board of Management member amounted to CHF plus short- and long-term performance-based compensation and other compensation amounts totalling CHF skyguide Annual Report 2009

43 Cost control Cost control is a permanent process for all skyguide employees with budgeting responsibility. To assist them in their work, all such employees have direct access to the company s Management Information System, which features various reports with full real-time accounting and budgeting information. These reports are compiled and updated by the company s Controlling unit. Financial control, strategic control and reporting Financial control is the responsibility of the company s Controlling unit, which monitors observance of the Five-Year Financial Plan, the annual budget and the Executive Information System (a quarterly budget reassessment) in collaboration with its partners within the various divisions. The annual budget is the prime foundation on which route and approach charge levels are set. A balanced scorecard (BSC) approach is adopted to monitor observance of the strategic guidelines set at all corporate levels. Skyguide also conducts Corporate Management Reviews to monitor processes and results, and subsequently takes any corrective action required. Companywide risk management Skyguide has adopted an integrated systematic risk management system to help ensure its sustainable business success. The Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) corporate governance tool, which was introduced at the end of 2006, makes a key contribution to maintaining risk transparency and helps management make appropriate business decisions in risk terms. In its design, methodology and procedure, ERM adopts a pragmatic approach. The ERM process consists of four main steps. Step 1 (risk identification) and Step 2 (risk evaluation) are also known as risk assessment, while Step 3 (risk treatment) and Step 4 (risk monitoring and review) are regarded as risk response. Risk assessment is intended to identify what might happen, with what probability and with what effects. Risk response defines how risks are to be handled and reports regularly thereon. All the steps in the ERM process are clearly defined and described, and are an integral part of the skyguide process landscape. The ERM process is also closely coordinated with the corporate planning process, and with strategic planning in particular. Process enhancement and the Quality Management System To perform its mandated mission, skyguide requires a management system which pays full regard to all the needs and demands of its customers, the requirements of the supervisory authorities and the needs of further stakeholder groups. The company s comprehensive Quality Management System (QMS) is an integrated management system that is based on the Skyguide Process Model, which describes all the company s business processes. All these processes are aligned to ensure that skyguide can fully meet its responsibility to ensure safe, smooth and cost-effective air traffic flows. These activities extend throughout the company and its operating environment. Constant further improvement is a cornerstone of skyguide s endeavours to achieve its corporate objectives. To this end, the company also conducts an annual Management Review to assess the management system s suitability and overall effect. Corrective action is subsequently initiated if required. Skyguide achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification of its QMS throughout its organisation in autumn The company s Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) unit has been certificated for several years now. The skyguide QMS earned its three-year ISO 9001:2000 recertification in autumn In awarding their recertification, the auditors did not identify a single deviation from the ISO 9001:2000 norm, and also confirmed that skyguide had further refined its QMS since the previous audit. In autumn 2009 skyguide received the new ISO 9001:2008 certification, following a further audit. The company s key QMS focuses for the year were on introducing the new quality strategy, aligning business processes to the revised skyguide strategy and simplifying the management system. skyguide Annual Report

44 Audit Management established as a separate unit Skyguide established its audit management as a separate unit reporting directly to the CEO in 2008, to reinforce its independence and neutrality. In 2009, the unit not only ensured full compliance with all legal requirements; it also turned its attention to improving possible systemic weaknesses. Various audits, particularly that of the company s management processes, were conducted with the assistance of external auditors. To audit its operational and technical processes, skyguide enlisted the expertise of its German counterpart the DFS under a new international collaboration in the auditing field. The FOCA also conducted various audits and inspections in the course of the year as part of its supervisory brief. The results of these supplemented skyguide s own internal analyses, and helped ensure the further continuous improvement of the skyguide management system. External auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers AG have been skyguide s statutory auditors since 1996 and its group auditors since The lead auditor is Ms. Corinne Pointet Chambettaz, who has held this position since Audit and additional fees PricewaterhouseCoopers AG charged skyguide around CHF for the services associated with its statutory and group auditing mandate in 2009, and a total of CHF for the year. PricewaterhouseCoopers AG met with the Board s Finance & Audit Committee on 13 March and 6 October 2009 and on 9 March Corporate Security Management Skyguide takes targeted action to protect its premises and IT systems against wilful damage or force majeure such as lightning, fire or flood. The link between the company s Corporate Security Management and its line functions is provided by the Physical Security Committee and the Information & Communications Technology Security Committee. Corporate Security Management is founded on three pillars: physical security, which regulates physical access to air traffic management centres and field stations and sites and defines protective measures against threats such as vandalism, sabotage and force majeure; information and communications technology (ICT) security, which protects the company s IT infrastructure and all software applications and networks against attacks by hackers or viruses; security clearance, which ensures the provision of security checks on employees and external auxiliary personnel. As well as various activities in all three areas, the focus of Corporate Security Management in 2009 was on developing comprehensive security protection for its new Air Navigation Service Center in Dübendorf. 44 skyguide Annual Report 2009

45 skyguide Annual Report