Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) is the company in charge of
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
for
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is a company organized under private law and 100% owned by the
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
. Since January 1993, DFS has been controlling air traffic in Germany. In Germany, military and civil air traffic controllers work side by side. Since 1994, DFS has been responsible for the handling of both civil and military air traffic in peacetime. Only military aerodromes are exempted from this integration.
History
DFS was formed by the (BFS). The BFS was established in 1953 and closed in January 1993. Previously, DFS was founded as a private
GmbH.
Running costs and fees
DFS's running costs are covered by applicable route charges ("Flugsicherungsgebühren", collected by
Eurocontrol
The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol (stylised ''EUROCONTROL''), is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1960, Eur ...
for its 37 participating member states) and by approach and departure fees (determination by the
BMVI by ordinance and collected directly by DFS)
According to the
Gesellschaftsvertrag, DFS is a not-for-profit company. Any surpluses generated must also be repaid in accordance with the internationally accepted principles for the collection of air navigation charges to airspace users.
Area control centers
DFS operates four area control centers located in:
*
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
*
Langen, Hesse
Langen is a town of roughly 39,000 in the Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. The town is between Darmstadt and Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Langen is headquarters ...
(HQ)
*
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
*
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
Towers
DFS operates the air navigation services on behalf and at its own expense, as defined by the
BMVI at the following airports:
* Berlin-Brandenburg -
EDDB
* Bremen -
EDDW
* Dresden -
EDDC
* Düsseldorf -
EDDL
* Erfurt -
EDDE
* Frankfurt -
EDDF
* Hamburg -
EDDH
* Hanover -
EDDV
Hannover Airport is the international airport of Hanover, capital of the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. The List of airports in Germany, ninth largest airport in Germany, it is in Langenhagen, north of the centre of Hanover. The air ...
* Cologne / Bonn -
EDDK
* Leipzig / Halle -
EDDP
* Munich -
EDDM
* Munster / Osnabrück -
EDDG
* Nuremberg -
EDDN
* Saarbrücken -
EDDR
* Stuttgart -
EDDS
Trivia
The DFS develops and uses Linux based Software for their purpose.
[https://fosdem.org/2017/schedule/event/air_traffic_control/ Presentation at FOSEM 2017 by Dr. Gerolf Ziegenhain (en)]
Notes
External links
* (in English)
{{authority control
Aviation in Germany
Air navigation service providers
Government-owned companies of Germany