Brussels, 01/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - Fearing that the EU is losing ground in airport efficiency, the Commission presented three regulations on Thursday 1 December. These aim to improve European airport capacity and efficiency. The legislative proposals target slots allocated to airlines, assistance on the ground and noise pollution. By launching a ground attack, the proposals complete the approach to improve services in the air as part of the development of the Single European Sky.
Global Context. The Asia-Pacific region is about to overtake the European Union in the air transport market. In order to remain competitive, the EU must begin reforms to ensure the sustainability of its airline sector in the global market. Five European airports have already reached saturation point and 19 others are in danger of becoming congested by 2030 if measures to improve their capacity and their level of service are not taken. The European commissioner for transport, Siim Kallas, insists that, “we have to act now. 70% of all delays to flights are already caused by problems on the ground not in the air. The status quo is not an option for airports in Europe. Faced with intense global competition, if we do not change the way we do business, we may not be doing business at all”.
Shifting from administrative concerns to market rules. The legislative proposal with the most impact involves airport slots granted to airlines. Currently, the distribution of slots is done administratively: each company receives a minimum of five slots to use during the same hour on the same day, for each season (summer and winter). If less than 80% of their hourly slots are used during a season, 50% of its slots are tendered during the following season to airlines that are already present on the market and 50% to new market entrants on the “first-come, first-served, principle.
The new regulation (it is no longer a directive) intends to set up secondary slot sales allocated to airlines, so that the market optimises the use of hourly slots itself, especially in the busiest airports (the British already allow this but the Spanish have banned such a mechanism). Slots allocated to the airlines which do not use them, could be sold on by these companies to competitors, transparently, under the aegis of member states. Subsequently, the Commission is hoping to introduce a greater impetus in slot availability, through competition. Moreover, the Commission is also suggesting increasing the series of slots available, from 5 to 10 in the winter season and to 15 in the summer season, as well as increasing the required minimum use of slots per season from 80 to 85%, which can be maintained in the following season.
These new provisions should translate into an increase of 24 million passengers a year, which will produce €5 billion and 62000 jobs by 2025, according to Commission estimates.
Quality ground handling. The Commission also wants to use this regulation to enhance competition between handlers on the ground (baggage handlers or services providing supplies), whilst guaranteeing working conditions for service provider employees. The minimum number of service providers should increase from 2 to 3 per airport and there should be mutual recognition, which will allow these service providers to operate in other member states, in addition to the one in which they have been granted authorisation. Moreover, new mechanisms will be applicable to service provider employees. Member states will require service providers to include a contract so staff can transfer under existing conditions when a contract goes to a new provider. There should be a minimum personnel training requirement. Finally, the proposals strengthen the role of airports as the “ground co-ordinator” with overall responsibility for the coordination of ground-handling services at an airport. They provide airports with a set of new tools to do this, for example, to require minimum quality standards to be respected by all ground-handlers at their airport.
Maintaining capacity despite the noise. Member states currently tackle noise related problems affecting those living close to airports differently. There is a danger that airport capacity could be restricted by banning flights or flight paths at specific times. In an effort to develop a more coherent approach in the Union and to avoid a noise reduction policy affecting airports operating close to saturation point, the Commission is seeking to improve traffic restriction procedures. It will therefore be easier to ban certain planes but more difficult to restrict traffic. The Commission will exercise control in these procedures, in an effort to ensure that justifications for restrictions are well founded and balanced.
Reactions from airlines to this legislative package have been numerous but most airlines do not support the introduction of the secondary market in hourly slots. (MD/trans/fl)