Routes and Airports Channel

Proposed airport charge policy garners mixed reaction in EU

By Sandra Arnoult
ATW's Airports Today, March 2009, p.4

The European Low Fares Airline Assn. complained that a new European Commission directive on airport charges will place additional regulatory burdens on airlines and airports at a time of "unprecedented industry crisis" coupled with a global economic recession.

The proposed directive establishes principles for the levying of airport charges that calls for transparency, nondiscrimination in pricing, setting quality standards and requiring airports to consult with airlines. It also would establish an independent supervisory authority to examine complaints regarding airport charges. ELFAA represents a dozen LCCs that carried 150 million passengers in 2008 with a combined fleet of 600 aircraft.

"While European consumers have benefited in the past 15 years from increased competition from regional and secondary airports, they continue to be significantly overcharged by abusive airport monopolies permitted to function under lax national regulatory regimes for airports," said ELFAA Secretary General John Hanlon. "Inflated charges are being passed on to passengers all over Europe as a result of overspecified investments in unnecessary airport infrastructure and inefficient operation of existing facilities."

ELFAA also contends that the directive does not suspend airport price increases that have been challenged by airlines and does not prohibit "collusive charging" at airports serving the same city.

Airports were more positive about the directive. ACI-Europe gave a cautious nod of approval, stating that it welcomed the Commission's use of ICAO standards and appreciated the recognition of the role played by small and regional airports in the EU. But it expressed concern that the directive failed to take into account "market reality and growing airport competition" across the board.

ACI-Europe contended that the new directive "fails to recognize that airports need to be incentivized to finance and develop new infrastructure--a regrettable oversight, not only given the current paralysis in the financial markets but crucially because of the widely recognized airport capacity crunch that Europe will face in the coming decades."

The Assn. of European Airlines described the new directive as an "important first step," adding that the current system of airport pricing is damaging to airlines. "It puts a premium on efficiency to the benefit of both sectors and of the traveling public," said AEA Secretary General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus.

The proposed directive still must be implemented into law by each EU member state, with a deadline for implementation set for March 2011.

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