Press Release
Brussels, 14th of March 2019
For immediate release
Airlines urge the EU Commission and Member States to fix the ATC problem
AIRE airline members gathered at the occasion of the association’s Board of Directors meeting on March 13th and concluded they expect the EU Commission and Member States to remedy the lack of capacity in the European sky.
European passengers and businesses deserve better than to suffer from the consequences of ten years of wrong management decisions from ANSPs that have been maintaining antiquated Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems operating with appalling inefficiencies.
It is high time for the European Commission and Member States to make responsible choices and prevent the repetition of last year’s record number of passengers delayed, fuel wasted and unnecessary CO2 emissions.
What is needed has been on the discussion table for a decade: modern technology, more productive and more flexible air traffic controllers (ATCOs) deployed where and when necessary.
There is enough money in the European ATC sector to deliver the capacity required. As airlines fund the whole system through ATC charges, they should be able to rely on a legal framework that encourages good performers instead of rewarding Air Navigation Service Providers that play with the system and prefer to increase their own profits rather than to deliver the capacity pre-financed by airlines.
On 26 and 27 March; the Members States will decide at the Single Sky Committee meeting on the level of performance of the EU ATC system for the next 5 years. AIRE members are calling upon these decision makers to bring the EU ATC sector finally out of obsolete systems and work practices.
For further information, please contact:
AIRE
Sylviane Lust
Director General
Tel: +32 (0) 2 546 10 60
Email: Sylviane.Lust@aire.aero