Amsterdam, 21/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - The industry did not hold back in its criticism of the European Commission's European aviation strategy, at the Aviation Summit of Thursday 21 January, hitting out principally at the lack of effectiveness of the European legislation.
The discontent was palpable from the word go. In a survey at the start of the conference, more than 64% of European players in the aviation sector attending the event expressed the view that the European rules are an obstacle to the growth of the European aviation industry.
The most virulent of the speakers was unquestionably Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary. “As far as I'm concerned, saying 'smart regulation' is a contradiction in terms”, he said at the top of his speech. In his view, the only criterion which matters is the consumer. “They're not interested in the environment, the only thing they want is low prices”, he said, with a passing swipe at Michael Cramer (Greens/EFA, Germany), who is campaigning for tighter rules for cleaner air transport. O'Leary concluded that the aviation strategy announced by the Commission in early December is certainly coherent, but unfortunately also ineffectual (see EUROPE 11438, 11447 and 11448).
Most of the airlines which took the floor, the vast majority of which were represented by the five companies which set up the group 'Airlines for Europe' (see other article), spoke out in no uncertain terms in favour of strong deregulation of the European market. “What we need is not to aim for equal results, but equal access to the market”, said József Váradi, CEO of budget airline Wizz Air, who added that “there are too many airlines in Europe”. Too many countries are keeping their national airline artificially afloat. “There have to be winners and losers”, he said.
This was not an opinion unanimously held among the member states. The French Secretary of State for Transport, Alain Vidalies, said that there can be no fair competition without rules. “The result of the European market is the result of rules”, he stressed. He argues that European regulations should be used as a roadmap for the global market.
“Nobody likes the strategy, and this is good news!”, said the Commission of the Transport, Violeta Bulc, ironically. “You asked for action, we brought you a strategy which we put together with your help!”, she went on, defending the strategy presented by the Commission (see EUROPE 11471). “You want better regulation? We revised all of the European framework on safety and security (…). It is up to you to make decisions. We are listening to you (…), but be honest”, she added.
Airports and airlines clash
One of the major points of conflict related to the taxes levied by the airports. Here again, O'Leary struck the first blow, referring to certain airports in regulated regions, which he claims have increased their charges on airlines by 80% to 90% in recent years, compared to a reduction of 20% in member states in which the market is deregulated. “In the aviation sector, it's the airports which make the most profit”, he said.
The airports took considerable offence at this comment. “Airports should not be the Job (in reference to the biblical figure: Ed) of the European policy”, warned Augustin de Romanet, the chair of the company Aéroports de Paris. A possible solution was suggested by Carsten Spohr, CEO of the German group Lufthansa, who said that he had reached a satisfactory agreement with Munich airport. “You can make a forced marriage into a love match”, he joked.
Conspicuous by their absence: the workers' representatives
Although the aviation sector workers did not have their say in any of the three panels, they were referred to in several of the contributions made. The Ryanair CEO, who expressed his great annoyance with the repeated strikes in France, Spain, Italy and Germany, in the air traffic control sector in particular, said that air traffic control staff should be banned from striking.
“Today's debates clearly show that the pro-liberalisation approach dominates the language of the Dutch Presidency (of the Council of the EU: Ed) and of the Commission”, François Ballestero, political secretary on civil aviation and tourism to the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF), told EUROPE. He said that the defence mechanisms should be reinforced for mobile workers, particularly ground crew. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)