LFV - Air Navigation Services of Sweden

LFV are responsible for air navigation services in Swedish airspace. LFV has 1,350 employees and controls flights for civilian and military customers at 35 locations in Sweden.

Air traffic controllers

LFV's air traffic controllers guide air traffic every day and are responsible for it flowing in a safe and efficient manner. They separate aircraft vertically and laterally to ensure they do not collide.

An air traffic controller is in constant collaboration with pilots, ground personnel and other controllers. They are constantly making decisions in a dynamic environment where the aircraft have different directions, velocities and altitudes. The controllers work in towers or control centres. From here, they have visual surveillance of the airport and monitor takeoffs, landings and the area in the immediate vicinity. In the control centres, other traffic is monitored and controlled.

Briefing officers and engineers also work within LFV. Briefing officers work with flightplan management while the engineers develop and run the technical systems that are used.

World-class air navigation services

The maintenance of high aviation safety must occur in harmony with environmental considerations and efficiency. For that reason, LFV has identified four areas of focus, within which it is working hard to be able to provide world-class air navigation services.

LFV is located at 35 airports around the country, including national, municipal, private and military. The company also owns and runs two control centres. LFV is joint owner in the Scandinavian air traffic services academy, Entry Point North and in the Danish-Swedish company, NUAC. Its subsidiary, LFV Aviation Consulting sells consultancy services within civil aviation all over the world.

"We are responsible for the air navigation service in Swedish airspace being safe, efficient and environmentally-friendly," says Thomas Allard, director general, LFV. "Our major challenge is in maintaining the current high level of aviation safety without costs becoming too high as traffic increases during the years ahead."

About LFV

LFV is one of four state enterprises in Sweden and has annual sales of about SEK2.3bn. Its headquarters are based in Norrköping, Sweden. Along with airlines and airports, LFV continues to ensure that aviation plays an important role in society, in order to satisfy the business community's need for rapid transport and the desire of people to travel.

As a state enterprise, the company is responsible for its own income and costs. LFV's income is primarily from airlines that pay fees to make use of its services in Swedish airspace, which accounts for over 70%. The remainder comes primarily from airports, as well as compensation from the Swedish Armed Forces for air navigation services.

LFV Swedish Air Navigation Services is an active member of the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) Consortium NORACON consisting of ATM in eight countries.

The key objectives for SESAR are to:

• Restructure European airspace as a function of air traffic flows
• Create additional capacity
• Increase the overall efficiency of the air traffic mangement system

LFV's environmental work

LFV works actively, professionally and responsibly to run an operation with as low an impact on the environment as possible. It does this in part by minimising the sources of emissions it directly influences, but also through other environmental efforts. For example, working with the airlines to continue developing a more efficient airspace with more direct, shorter overflights and approaches as well as by reducing fuel consumption through 'green flights.'