Barrot’s airports plan disappoints airlines

Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot is to unveil on 24 January proposals aimed at helping Europe’s airports meet security and capacity challenges.

The airport package, unprecedented in its scope, proposes ways of increasing airport capacity, introduces standard mechanisms for the fees charged by airports to airlines and reports on airport infrastructure and services.

Airlines will be disappointed, however, that Barrot has stopped short of introducing rules on the liberalisation of ground-handling services. Such services cover all passenger aircraft needs from catering to the unloading of luggage. Airlines such as Air France-KLM and Lufthansa claim that failure to liberalise contributes to inefficient service on the ground.

Revision of the current directive governing ground-handling services, dating from 1996, was due six years ago. The airline industry had been expecting liberalising measures to be introduced in the new package, but Barrot has opted instead to issue a report setting out the uneven state of the market across the EU.

"This is a big setback for us," said Françoise Humbert, communications manager at industry lobby the Association of European Airlines. "We’re disappointed that this won’t be addressed. We are subject to market pressures and we’d like our providers to be subject to the same.

"Airlines operate in a competitive market. They have to be on their toes all the time. Some countries have inadequate service standards. We are frustrated that the Commission will not take a decision on that."

A European Commission official stressed that regulators would continue to intervene in markets on the basis of the 1996 legislation. "There are problems," he said, "and on the basis of problems we will intervene. This is not the moment to determine if we want more legislation," he said.

Airports, represented by the Airports Council International, are satisfied with provisions contained in the package. "The current framework is working very well with ground handling competition in place across Europe," said Stephen Hogan, ACI Europe’s head of communications.

"The areas that need to be focused on and improved relate to quality of service and labour conditions. Obviously, increased competition has brought with it cost-cutting, which has hit employees hard, not just in terms of pay and conditions, but also in terms of training and safety, impacting overall quality of service," he conceded.

Airlines are also dissatisfied with mechanisms proposed for setting the fees they are charged by airports. Barrot has opted for a light-touch approach, setting out principles and guidelines, rather than imposing caps. Member states are to establish authorities on charges independently of both airlines and airports.

The Commission will also propose a five-point action plan aimed at increasing capacity at Europe’s major airports. More use of regional airports will be recommended as a way of relieving bottlenecks.

Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot is to unveil on 24 January proposals aimed at helping Europe’s airports meet security and capacity challenges.