Brussels, 22/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - Following a meeting with Gilles de Robien, the French minister of transport on Wednesday, Loyola de Palacio Commissioner for transport welcomed the French proposals to improve transparency and quality in the airline sector. The latter made a commitment to produce a proposal on this subject and called on Member States to rapidly transpose the future directive on third country aircraft security, which is currently in conciliation. An appeal was heard by Mr de Robien, who announced that his country would transpose this directive in 2004.
Loyola de Palacio declared that it was necessary to improve transparency in this sector and that it was therefore essential to correctly inform customer purchasing plane tickets about the airline they are flying with. The Commissioner also welcomed the French ideas on this subject and for making a commitment to produce a proposal on the matter before the summer. Mr de Robien added that it was also indispensable to warn passengers "in time" about all amendments involving airlines, which should allow them to change it they so wish.
The French proposal for creating a quality "label" for airlines and constituting on this basis in the next three years a sort of "white list" of airlines that are the safest and most professional, was warmly welcomed by Ms de Palacio but that this would be difficult to implement. The Commissioner explained that this idea would pose "several problems" (notably because it is addressed to third country companies as well). The Commissioner also announced the setting up of a work group for taking this idea further. Mr de Robien concluded that they had not concluded anything as yet and added, "we are going to work in France on this idea and our work will help at a European level".
While waiting to put these new ideas into practice, Ms de Palacio pointed out that there was a draft directive on the table on third country aircraft safety, which was currently in conciliation and would involve an exchange of information on aircraft safety between Member States. In the hope that this draft directive would be adopted before the end of the month 27 January date of the first conciliation meeting), Ms de Palacio will "address a letter to Member States calling on them to work for an early transposition of the directive" (initially proposed with a two year deadline). The French minister indicated that his country would transpose this directive this year.