ENAIRE coordinates measures to mitigate the impact of the air traffic control strike in Marseille

This weekend, from 06:30 on Saturday the 25th to 06:30 on Monday the 27th, the en-route control centre in Aix-en-Provence, in the Marseille Flight Region, will reduce its capacity to manage flights due to a strike convened by a traffic controllers union.

This strike will have a significant impact on both the European and ENAIRE network, and more specifically in the areas of responsibility of the Barcelona, Palma, Levante and Madrid ENAIRE control centres. Scheduled flights at the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat and Palma de Mallorca airports will also be affected, as will flights at other important airports in the Mediterranean.

The measures that the French Air Navigation Service Provider (DSNA) is managing with EUROCONTROL and with collateral Service Providers, such as ENAIRE in the case of Spain, are based on the recommendation given to airspace users to re-plan routes to avoid flying through the airspace sectors of the Marseille Region. Through the various updates and publications from the European network manager, airlines will be able to evaluate a series of alternative airways to mitigate, as far as possible, the impact on their flights. Passengers are asked to check the status of their flight with the airline

As a result of the minimum services provided by the French ANSP, the capacity to open airspace sectors and the demand it will be able to accept will be limited.  The impact of the reduced control services in Marseille airspace this weekend will cause traffic to be re-routed to avoid this airspace, as well as delays due to the lower capacity resulting from less control staff, which, in the case of Spain, will affect the collateral sectors of Catalonia, Levante and the Balearic Islands.

Due to the delays and re-routing dynamics that will occur in Marseille's airspace, delays can be expected as some flights are re-routed to avoid this airspace, affecting, in the case of Spain, the collateral airspaces of Catalonia, Levante and the Balearic Islands.

In an effort to be proactive, ENAIRE is in constant contact with its French counterpart and the European Network Manager (EUROCONROL) to help reduce the impact on airlines and passengers. It is participating with EUROCONTROL in all its mitigation activities and making available to airlines and Associations all the information on the measures and/or any changes as soon as it is published. ENAIRE has also activated its incident management procedure and it is reinforcing its services at its air control centres, especially in the Eastern and Balearic regions.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.

As a company of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, it provides en route control services for all flights and overflights from five control centres in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Gran Canaria and Palma, as well as approach services to every airport in the country.

In addition, 45 control towers receive ENAIRE's communication, navigation and surveillance services, and 21 airports, including the country's busiest, rely on its aerodrome control services.

ENAIRE is Europe's fourth largest air traffic manager. Since 1 January 2022, it has chaired the A6 Alliance, a coalition of air navigation providers responsible for over 80% of European air traffic, and which is seeking to modernise the air traffic management system. It is also a member of other international alliances promoting the Single European sky, such as SESAR Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO and ICAO.

ENAIRE has received the highest score in Europe on the aviation safety key performance indicator. It has also been awarded the EFQM 500 Seal for its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.