On Monday 11 May, the European Commission launched a public consultation to gather the views of interested parties on its draft guidelines for State aid to the aviation sector. Interested parties are invited to respond to the public consultation by 11 June.
These new guidelines will replace those adopted in 2014 (see EUROPE 11023/9) and revised in 2023 (see EUROPE 13218/16), in view of the developments in the aviation sector in recent years. The decarbonisation objectives at European level, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy crisis, call for a modernisation of the European approach to State aid, says the European Commission in a press release.
The new rules are expected to reduce the scope of eligible airports, giving priority to smaller infrastructures. In its draft of the new guidelines, the Commission considers that the recommendations set out in 2014 have achieved their objective with regard to airports handling more than one million passengers a year. As a result, these airports will no longer need operating aid.
Thus, compared with the previous guidelines, the Commission is moving towards a reduction in current operating aid and a more detailed analysis of the effect of State aid on competition. What is new in relation to the current framework is that airports will be able to benefit from specific State aid to support their decarbonisation efforts. Lastly, aid for setting up new air routes would be abolished.
Link to the public consultation: https://aeur.eu/f/luw (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)