Achieving sustainable performance in natural monopolies - the role of strategic planning in the European air navigation services

Air transport is a major enabler for growth. The European economy needs an air transport system technologically advanced, safe, cost efficient and environmentally friendly. These attributes are often conceived by the public as part of the airlines\´ realm. However there is the important business of the air navigation services (ANS) dealing with its air traffic services (ATS) part with the safe, orderly and expeditious flow of the air traffic (Regulation (EC) No 549/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council). The paper tests and confirms that the business of air traffic services (ATS) is a natural monopoly. Its performance affects considerably the overall air transport sector and as all monopolies needs to be regulated appropriately. The current situation in Europe, the related developments in improving the performance of the service as well as the risks associated with designed top-down measures are briefly analyzed. The paper proposes a novel approach to achieving and securing the sustainability of the "right" performance and avoiding the risks of over-regulation. The proposed novel approach has been tried in a number of cases.