The performance and charging scheme aims at enhancing the performance of air navigation services through a gate-to-gate approach covering both en route and terminal air navigation services. The legislation lays down the conditions to setting targets in the key performance areas of safety, environment, airspace capacity and cost-efficiency through the adoption of European Union-wide performance targets and consistent national or Functional Airspace Blocks (FAB) performance targets.

Performance targets are subject to incentives with a view to encouraging better performance, including the application of a traffic risk sharing mechanism in respect of the key performance area of cost-efficiency. Incentive schemes are setting parameters in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner for the purpose of rewarding or penalising actual performance in relation to the adopted performance targets.

An effective partnership between the main stakeholders, such as air navigation service providers, functional airspace blocks, airports, civil and military airspace users and the Network Manager is of key importance for the achievement of performance targets.