To help airlines cope with the financial crisis they are going through, the Eurocontrol provisional Committee agreed on Tuesday 7 April to defer the payment of air traffic control fees due for the months of February to May, totalling €1.1 billion.
Payments are due to start in November 2020. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and the lockdown measures implemented, air traffic has effectively decreased by almost 90% and airlines are now facing major cash flow difficulties.
"This payment deferral will ease the immediate burden on airlines and it provides certainty on financial planning to both airlines and the air navigation service providers on when payments will be made after the crisis has abated," highlighted Eurocontrol Director General Eamonn Brennan. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)