Aviation authority: Eurocontrol's massive cancellation procedure not yet launched

Negotiations between the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) and air traffic controllers trade union representatives have been ongoing for a few days now.

"With reference to the talks between the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) and the air traffic controllers, a meeting of the President of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) with the PANSA representatives and the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) was organized on April 22, 2022. The meeting concerned a potential launch of the massive cancellation procedure, i.e. flights cancellation. At present the procedure has not been initiated," the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in a statement on Friday.

"Together with EUROCONTROL it was established that despite a decreased number of flight controllers, the flight operations from Polish regional airports and over Poland should be performed without violent disturbances. More irregularities are to be expected at the airports in Warsaw and Modlin," the CAA added.

"Regardless of how much the air traffic is going to be limited, all flight operations will be performed with the preservation of the safety standards," we read.

"The President of the CAA, on the basis of tools and competences defined in Art. 21 of the Act of July 3, 2002 – Aviation Law, performs oversight over PANSA whose task is, especially, to ensure safety and continuity of air traffic. Nevertheless, the President of the CAA’s competences do not cover the ownership supervision of PANSA. The President of the CAA has neither authority nor tools to engage in social disputes arising from the labor law in institutions he oversees," the CAA explained in the statement.

"Although the CAA is not a party to the dispute, it takes any possible steps to preserve the continuity of flight operations and is in constant contact with appropriate international aviation institutions, inclusive of EUROCONTROL and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)".

Earlier on Friday, the Eurocontrol told Polish Press Agency that it was aware of the ongoing negotiations and hoped for a quick breakthrough. Furthermore, it added that if no solution was found, it would have very consequences for the European air traffic. In such case, it would be the CAA's task, with the help from Eurocontrol, to launch a flights cancellation procedure starting May 1.

In a statement issued in the afternoon on Friday, Eurocontrol said: "It is anticipated that there will be enough controllers for the approach to Warsaw airports to operate 7,5 hours per day (09.30-17.00 CEST), with a total capacity of around 170 flights. The two Warsaw airports were expected to handle on average 510 flights each day in May".

"Currently there are approximately 700 flights that overfly Polish airspace each day. Of these, some 300 flights will need to be re-routed due to a lack of en-route controllers. EUROCONTROL Network Manager is consulting with its partners to determine which flights could be re-routed and how best this can be achieved so as to minimise the impact, also considering the impact of the war in Ukraine on the airspace availability," Eurocontrol added.

EU Commission spokesperson Stefan De Keersmaecker said on Friday that it was closely monitoring the situation in Poland, but because as a social conflict was the main reason behind the dispute, the EU executive had no authority to intervene. The spokesman also called upon all concerned sides to find an urgent solution.

De Keersmaecker added that, according to a Eurocontrol estimate, some 1,000 flights a day to and from Poland could be cancelled, if no agreement was reached.