Brussels 13/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - The International Air Transport Association, IATA, is calling on the European Commission to create a European body tasked with examining the tariff practices of airports, Giovanni Bisignani told the press on Monday, before a meeting with the Commissioner for Transport, Jacques Barrot.
The aviation industry "remains in crisis", he explained, backing up his words with figures: since 2001, the sector has lost around 42 billion dollars and may lose another 4.3 billion this year, due to the increase in oil prices. The airlines have paid very heavily for this increase: their oil bill has risen from 44 billion dollars in 2003 to nearly 100 billion in 2005. Even though European airlines have not come out of this too badly compared to their American counterparts, "even the beneficiary companies (such as BA, Air France/KLM, Lufthansa, Iberia, SAS) are not covering the cost of the capital", explained Mr Bisignani, who added that the situation "is just getting worse", despite the increase in air traffic volumes. The solution? "Reducing costs and improving efficiency". However, the partners of the airlines must also make efforts, which is not always the case, complained Mr Bisignani, pointing out: "the airlines and their clients pay the airports and service providers 42 billion dollars every year". However, if certain airports use their efforts to shore up those of the airlines, like Copenhagen airport already has, others are quite simply living "in a monopolistic Utopia". This is particularly the case with the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, "the worst example", where "charges have increased by 26.5% over the last five years" and are set to increase a further 5% in the next five years, said the president of the IATA. However, "where there is neither commercial discipline nor competition- as is the case for suppliers with a monopoly- the governments must take their responsibilities". This is why he is calling upon the European Commission to create a European body tasked with examining the tariff practices of airports handling over 5 million passengers a year. This body should be "fair, transparent, independent and fast" and include a "dispute settlement mechanism".
The IATA president took the opportunity once again to criticise the idea put forward by President Chirac, who wants to resolve the "problems of development in the world by taxing airlines and their customers", and the plans by the Swedish government to levy an environmental tax on airline passengers as of July. It is time to stop treating airlines as "cash cows ", he said.