Belgium, like most countries, relies on a complex air traffic control system to manage and ensure the safe and efficient movement of aircraft within its airspace. However, the country’s air traffic control system, run by the autonomous public company Skeyes, has been deemed too expensive by the European Commission.
1. Skeyes
Skeyes is the air navigation and traffic services provider for the civil airspace for the whole of Belgium. Formerly known as Belgocontrol, the company is responsible for managing and controlling air traffic, maintaining navigational aids, providing communication services to pilots and controllers, and implementing safety measures to prevent accidents and incidents.
It operates up to flight level 245 (7.5 km), including the control of Brussels, Charleroi, Liège, Antwerp and Ostend airports. Skeyes also operates in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, between flight level 145 (4.4 km) or 165 (5 km) and flight level 245.
Typically, airlines pay Skeyes a fee to use its services on these territories. According to the Commission, the fees applied in Belgium are too high, a matter that can be changed since the fees that air navigation service providers charge airlines are regulated in Europe.
2. Belgium and Luxembourg pay more
For 2024, the unit price in the Belgium-Luxembourg zone is set at 89.9 euros, the highest of all the charging zones in the EU countries, Norway and Switzerland. For the period 2020-2024, the Commission notes that the cost increase in this zone (+ 2%) appears to be twice as fast as the EU-wide trend (+1%). The Commission has identified an “unjustified difference” of around 30 million euros for the entire Belgium-Luxembourg zone and is calling for corrective measures.
The EU executive further notes that “the economic efficiency of Skeyes is heavily influenced by the cost of its early retirement scheme”, allowing controllers to end their careers five years before the statutory retirement age.
Johan Decuyper, CEO of Skeyes, is now turning to the Belgian government for financial support, citing past examples and how the situation was fixed. “In the past, the unit costs were too high for Germany, and the German government decided to pay part of the costs”, Decuyper says.
The cabinets and the administration are discussing the next steps to prepare the Belgian response to the Commission’s request, which is due on 15 September.
