Transport Commissioner Says Sanctions Against Member States May Be Required

For the past decade, the European Union has been trying to consolidate air traffic control for the continent into nine regional blocks, rather than the 27 individual national airspaces currently in place across Europe. But the "Single European Sky II" initiative is seriously off track, according to European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas.

Reuters reports that Kallas said that "infringements" against members states may be necessary. Speaking at a conference in Limassol, he said the EU "has fallen seriously behind in our original ambitions," and that the issues have not changed over the past 10 years.

The member nations have been reluctant to take their air traffic monopolies apart in favor of the regional approach, Kallas said. The current system costs as much as $6.5 million more than it should, he said, all of which is eventually passed on to airline passengers in the form of fees. ATC costs make up as much as 12 percent of the price of an airline ticket in Europe.

Kallas said that the EU may be forced to invoke a procedure called "infringement" against the member governments, which starts as a formal demand and can escalate to the courts. He said that the U.S. controls the same amount of airspace at half the cost, which makes the EU "uncompetitive."

He said that the "antiquated" system in Europe adds an average of 42 kilometers (22 nautical miles) per flight due to inefficient routing, resulting in wasted fuel and increased emissions.

The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) commended Kallas and MEP Brian Simpson for having voiced so forcefully their frustration over the lack of decisive action taken by Member States, and for having unequivocally condemned them for failing to make the changes needed to deliver the benefits of the Single European Sky (SES) initiative. The EBAA says the Commission’s sentiments are completely aligned with its recent calls to national stakeholders to no longer delay in taking action to realize the promises of SES.

“It seems unlikely at present that objectives will be met due to the lack of mobilization among Member States. There can be no arguing that air traffic control drastically needs modernizing in order to create cost-efficient capacity for future growth and help reduce both fuel burns and emissions. On this last point alone, SES could have a real impact on curbing CO2 emissions, far greater than anything the EU ETS hopes to deliver. As such, foot dragging by some Member States seriously jeopardizes Europe’s reputation as a leader in tackling environmental issues and reducing carbon emissions,” said Fabio Gamba, CEO of EBAA (pictured in EBAA photo).

“Airspace users and their passengers are obliged to incur on-going, substantially higher costs that should otherwise have been avoidable,” he added. “Considering the gravity of Europe’s economic landscape today, inefficiencies cannot be afforded in sectors like aviation that are fundamental to enabling Europe's recovery. The EBAA firmly stands behind the Commission to do whatever is necessary, including enforcing infringement procedures, to put this crucial program back on track as soon as possible.”

FMI: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/index_en.htm, www.ebaa.org