2025 Agenda

Cost-effectiveness benchmarking is a cornerstone of performance regulation in air traffic management, providing a high-level view of how ANSPs transform resources into operational output. While existing frameworks offer valuable comparability across providers, they inevitably rely on simplified representations of output and cost drivers. As a result, differences in operational and environmental conditions can significantly influence outcomes, sometimes obscuring the underlying drivers of performance.

This presentation explores how factors such as airspace size and structure, traffic mix, transit times, traffic complexity, and operational constraints shape cost-effectiveness measurements across ANSPs. Drawing on recent analytical work and cross-ANSP comparisons, the session illustrates how these characteristics can materially affect commonly used performance indicators, even when service provision quality and efficiency efforts are comparable.

Rather than challenging existing benchmarking frameworks, the presentation adopts a forward-looking perspective, focusing on how performance assessments can be better contextualised to support informed regulatory and policy discussions. It examines opportunities to enhance interpretability through complementary indicators, clustering approaches, and the systematic use of operational context alongside headline metrics. The objective is not to replace established benchmarks, but to enrich their interpretation so that they more accurately reflect the diversity of ANSP operating environments.

By framing benchmarking as a tool for insight rather than ranking alone, the session aims to contribute to a more constructive dialogue between regulators, ANSPs, and stakeholders. It highlights how more nuanced performance assessment can support better-informed policy decisions, encourage targeted efficiency improvements, and strengthen confidence in the governance of ATM performance frameworks.

Key takeaways for the audience

Understand how operational and environmental factors influence measured ANSP cost-effectiveness outcomes.measurements.

Gain insight into why contextualisation matters for fair and policy-relevant benchmarking.

Explore practical ways to enhance the interpretability of existing performance indicators without undermining comparability.

Learn how improved benchmarking dialogue can support better regulation, governance, and strategic decision-making.…