Brussels, 22/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - EU airports are on the defensive in the wake of European Commission criticism. “For quite a while, we have been calling for airports to be given appropriate authority to control how their infrastructure is being used by others”, said Olivier Jankovec, the director general of ACI Europe (Airports Council International - Europe). “The forthcoming revision of EU legislation on ground handling is the opportunity to allow airports to set minimum operational standards for ground handlers in relation to service quality and safety”, he added in a press release during the evening of Tuesday 21 December. According to ACI, airport authorities do not have legal authority to control the behaviour and results of each company at the airport, in particular when these are independent companies such as ground handling firms.
This was the main cause of the problem that appeared on Monday at Zaventem airport where ground handling services did not have sufficient stocks of de-icer, the association states. ACI-Europe also points out that the airport authorities have done everything possible to keep operations going and to provide assistance to passengers blocked at the airport. The London Heathrow airport took on additional staff and provided beds, blankets, food and water. Amsterdam-Schiphol provided camp beds, tea, coffee, sandwiches and WiFi to some 2,700 people blocked over the weekend. The airport in Brussels added cartoons for the children and medical support and meals for 3,300 people kept at the airport due to adverse weather conditions. The airport in Charleroi, in cooperation with the Red Cross, made 800 beds available and provided free phone calls and bus services to accommodate passengers in towns in the surrounding area.
Unlike the disruption caused in April due to the volcanic ash cloud, the impact and extent of traffic disruption are “local”, ACI states. On Monday 20 December 88% of flights to and from Europe took off, the association recalls, refusing to compare the current situation to the “volcanic ash” crisis. ACI-Europe also rejected any comparison - made the day before by Siim Kallas - between airports in the west of Europe and those in northern Europe. It is easier to thaw aircraft when temperatures remain constant below zero than to meet problems resulting from varying temperatures, ACI-Europe states. In his statement on Monday, the European transport commissioner above all cited the northern airports as an example of good operation in extreme conditions. “We have seen that snow in western Europe in recent years is not that exceptional”, he said on Tuesday. “The best preparation, like that by airports in northern Europe, is not an additional operation” - it should be “planned” in order to ensure the necessary investment is made especially by the airports, he stressed. In the same way, the director general of the BMI, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, accused the operator of Heathrow Airport (BAA) of not being prepared for severe snowfalls. A certain amount of frustration further to the closure of Heathrow Airport has also been expressed by the British government. Prime Minister David Cameron said when speaking to the press on Tuesday that the government was planning to provide technical assistance to the airport.
On Wednesday 22 December, air traffic and international rail links were gradually coming out of the chaos caused by snow and severe temperatures in Europe. London-Heathrow was still operating at a reduced rate but the airport in Frankfurt has since announced a gradual return to normality. In Parisian airports (Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly), traffic has gradually picked up since Tuesday but flights were still being cancelled or delayed to European destinations still suffering from the adverse weather conditions. When it comes to rail travel, Eurostar announced the cancellation of nine of its 52 trains scheduled for Wednesday, while adding that passengers concerned would have a seat on the next available trains. Further snow is expected, however, for Wednesday evening. (A.By./transl.jl)