IACA welcomes and shares the analysis made by the European Commission in their proposal published today of the clear lack of progress towards making the Air Navigation Services (ATM) in Europe more efficient despite the implementation of two earlier packages of Regulations, SES-I and II.
IACA believes that some of the key shortcomings of the present legal framework are addressed in the Commission’s proposal:
- the setting of local targets together with the EU-wide targets
- the need to establish genuinely independent supervisory authorities tasked to impose corrective measures and sanctions
- the widening of the scope of responsibilities of the Network Manager and the clarification on its governance.
IACA welcomes and shares the analysis made by the European Commission in their proposal published today of the clear lack of progress towards making the Air Navigation Services (ATM) in Europe more efficient despite the implementation of two earlier packages of Regulations, SES-I and II.
After 10 years of trying to correct the inefficiencies of the European ATM, airlines are still wasting more than 5 billion euros each year paying unnecessary bills for the fragmented infrastructure and the lack of productivity of the service providers.
This punitive situation imposed on airlines, their passengers and the environment by state-protected monopolies is not sustainable.
The fact the Commission is proposing yet another set of rules is clear proof that the existing regulations are neither adequate to drive efficiency (in particular cost-efficiency) nor properly enforced by Member States.
IACA believes that some of the key shortcomings of the present legal framework are addressed in the Commission’s proposal:
- the setting of local targets together with the EU-wide targets
- the need to establish genuinely independent supervisory authorities tasked to impose corrective measures and sanctions
- the widening of the scope of responsibilities of the Network Manager and the clarification on its governance.
Disappointingly, the proposed SES-II+ fails to correct the fundamental flaws of the performance scheme set in the Performance and Charging Regulations and will not be enough to trigger the radical change that is long overdue.
Sylviane Lust, Director General of IACA, commented: “There is a clear and obvious lack of progress in reforming the European ATM system. What this means is that airlines and passengers have been the ones to lose out over the years. Today’s proposal is yet another attempt to reform the system but it doesn’t go nearly far enough.”
“The EU Parliament and the European Council now have a choice. They can either let the EU ATM remain a failure for Europe or turn it around to the benefit of Europe’s economy and its citizens.”
Photo caption: Sylviane Lust, Director General of IACA.
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