Airlines for Europe: A4E

news
European airline associations call on EU to reject air traffic
control price hike proposal
10 December, 2014
Germany has determined a 16.6 per cent increase in its charges to airlines for air traffic control services from 1
January 2015. This proposed outrageous price hike, at almost 40 times the rate of the Euro area inflation 1, is not
acceptable to the airspace users’ community and is completely at odds with the objective of the European Union
performance scheme which aims to regulate and control the price increases of air traffic control providers and the
entire Single European Sky.
The heads of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), the International Air Carrier Association (IACA),
the European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA), the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and
the Association of European Airlines (AEA) are calling on the European Commission and European Union
member states to send a clear message to air traffic control providers that the performance scheme must be
respected and reject the performance plans due to be submitted by Germany at the January meeting of the Single
Sky Committee.
Commenting on the proposed increase, the heads of ERA, IACA, ELFAA, EBAA and AEA say: “This price hike
makes a mockery of the European Commission’s efforts to control the cost increases of air traffic control through
the EU performance scheme. It is a clear case of a monopoly service provider abusing its dominant position.
Airlines and, inevitably, the end user - the consumer - will be forced to pick up these costs with absolutely no
associated increase or improvement in the level of service provided by Germany. This is a sad day for European
competitiveness and the urgently-needed efforts to improve the efficiency and lower the unjustified cost of
European air traffic management.”
1: Euro inflation = 0.4% in November 2014: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Inflation_in_the_euro_area
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Association of European Airlines (AEA)
Geert Sciot, general manager communications
Tel: +32 2 639 89 76, Email: [email protected]
European Regions Airline Association (ERA)
Celia Mather, communications manager
Tel: +44 (0) 1276 485 582, Email: [email protected]
European Business Aviation Association (EBAA)
Ciel Jolley, pr manager
Tel : +32 2 290 01 62, Email : [email protected]
International Air Carrier Association (IACA)
Sylviane Lust, director general
Tel: +32 2 546 10 60, Email: [email protected]
European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA)
John Hanlon, secretary general
Tel: +32 2 504 90 05, Email: [email protected]