Brussels, 20/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission report on airport taxes has set the cat among the pigeons (see EUROPE 11082). The airports believe that the European directive has done what it set out to do but the airlines think it imperative that application is improved.
The report highlights the patchwork of airport taxes in Europe, resulting from implementation of Directive 2009/12/EC, which varies from one member state to the next. All European airlines, whether they are regional, low-cost or more conventional, have seized this opportunity to express their misgivings in this regard. Their various representative federations (AEA, ERA, ELFAA, IACA) regret that the Commission has not developed concrete proposals in its report to rectify the situation and say that “we need cost-efficient airport charges that are set in a transparent way, based on a meaningful consultation between airports and airlines, and that are subject to truly independent regulatory oversight”.
In its reply to EUROPE, one of the federations' spokespersons summed up the situation by explaining that, although ticket prices had come down over recent years, airport charges had consistently increased. This same source indicated that “we are calling on the Commission to be stricter with airports. It must act like a regulator”. The airlines are hoping that, with the forum on the subject on 13 June in Thessaloniki, they will obtain “solutions” based on transparency, consultation and implementation, confirmed this same source, adding that, without this, “a review will be necessary but we do not want this because it takes time”.
The airlines therefore feel that they have been caught by the airports' natural monopolistic situation. The airports, however, deny this. The Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe) believes that there has indeed been a shift in negotiating powers to the airlines since the introduction of the directive, which is an indication that the legislation has accomplished its task. Its secretary general, Olivier Jankovec, therefore recommends “reconsidering the regulation's objectives”. ACI-Europe warns against the risk of the directive being caught up in this storm, which would reduce customary trade relations and restrict competition in the future. (MD)