Page 68 - World Airnews Magazine May 2021 Edition

COLUMN

IT’S ‘NOW OR NEVER’

than ever. And the climate crisis makes the “Air traffic control is a monopoly

sustainability benefits essential. Europe business. In every other business sec-

he Single European Sky project talks a good game about the importance tor, monopoly suppliers are subjected

Taimed at reforming Europe’s air of sustainability and competitiveness. It’s to strong independent regulation - but

traffic management system faces col- time to put action behind those words not in air traffic control. European states
with the SES. If the combined weight of
lapse if European states do not support the climate crisis and the COVID-19 crisis make grandiose statements about climate

the EC’s proposals to reboot the stalled are not sufficiently compelling drivers for action yet refuse to back common-sense

initiative. SES, it’s hard to know what could be,” said reforms that would force ANSPs to make

This is the warning from the International Walsh. routings more efficient. And, oblivious to

Air Transport Association. The SES has so far failed because air the EUR 27 billion collective loss made by
European airlines last year, Europe’s AN-
“The European Commission has been try- navigation service providers (ANSPs) have SPs are demanding further price increases

ing to deliver the benefits of SES since the had inadequate targets and insufficient while sitting on at least EUR 2.5 billion of

early 2000s. But state inaction has meant independent oversight. The commission’s cash. This is pure madness. But, instead of
that none of its targets have been met. proposal provides a remedy by giving driving solutions at this critical time, many

New legislation, as proposed by the com- regulators the power to enforce robust states are positioning to block reforms

mission, is the only way to force the reform performance targets. and we are in serious danger of moving
and improvements that are desperately IATA strongly supports the efforts of the backwards,” said Walsh.

needed. But the intransigence and selfish- commission and some reform-minded Many European states are consider-

ness of key EU states and their air naviga- states in a package that includes: ing blocking the reforms in favour of an

tion service providers (ANSPs) threatens to • The creation of powerful, indepen- alternative vision which will weaken the

collapse the latest commission effort,” said dent national economic regulators, targets and regulatory oversight from what

Willie Walsh, IATA director general. and an EU-wide regulatory agency, is currently in place. This is completely
The SES is vital for a safe, sustainable, and and unacceptable and could collapse the entire

efficient European air transport industry. • The strengthening of the pan-Euro- package of reforms.

Among its benefits are: pean Network Manager to improve “Such a catastrophic failure of the

• An improvement in safety perfor- efficiency, which will help cut delays Commission’s proposal would take years

mance by a factor of ten and emissions. to recover from. We would have lost a
• Greater capacity and fewer real opportunity for change when it is
delays, giving a EUR 245 billion vitally needed. And the environment
boost to Europe’s GDP and a and the European economy will pay a
million extra jobs annually from high price for that, along with travel-
2035 lers and airlines. It’s time for states to

• A 10% cut in EU aviation emis- put an end to years of short-sighted

sions, supporting the European political manoeuvring and administra-

Green Deal. tive paralysis and support the com-

“The COVID-19 crisis makes the ef- mission’s proposal to finally deliver a

ficiency gains of the SES more critical Single European Sky,” said Walsh. Q
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World Airnews | May 2021s | December 2017
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