Several air sector organisations have reacted to the European Parliament report, that was adopted on Thursday 10 November, on the draft regulation on air safety (see EUROPE 11665), with ETF, the European Transport Workers’ Federation, stating that Parliament is blowing “hot and cold”.
ETF is pleased that the clear interdependence between air safety and socio-economic factors has now been recognised in impact studies on current and future European policies. However, it regrets the transport and tourism committee’s support for minimum service levels in air traffic management during strike action – something that airlines have long called for (see EUROPE 11579). “The states where there are strikes already have a minimum service level in force”, François Ballestero, ETF Political Secretary for Civil Aviation, pointed out to EUROPE. “The only real solution is through sound social dialogue”, he argued.
From the comments by A4E, which represents several of the main European players, such as Air France/KLM, Lufthansa and Ryanair, airlines would seem to be particularly unhappy with the text adopted by MEPs. For A4E, MEPs have made two mistakes: rejecting the Commission’s proposal to streamline the airplane leasing approval process in case of unforeseen circumstances which will hamper airlines’ ability to provide fast and effective assistance to customers when there are disruptions and the lack of transparency in the transfer of air navigation charges to fund the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) – two decisions “which will … lead to additional costs to customers”. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)