Airlines in Europe will be entitled to state aid to help them recover from the financial impact of the volcanic ash cloud, but there will be no changes to passenger rights rules.
European transport commissioner Siim Kallas has unveiled a series of measures in response to the recent ash cloud crisis, which shut down European airspace for six days.
Kallas says these are "practical measures to provide relief to the air transport sector so it can weather this crisis".
Under the new measures, member states can offer airlines loans and guarantees granted at market rates to help with their financial recovery. They can also provide state aid "to make good damage caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences".
However, airlines calling for a change to Europe's passenger rights rules to reflect the extraordinary nature of the ash cloud crisis will be disappointed.
"Air passenger rights provided by European Union law remain fully applicable," says the Commission. "There must be a level playing field so that one company does not get unfair advantage over another by failing to fully meet its obligations.
"The Commission will work closely with national authorities to ensure the regulations are applied in a consistent way."
It believes that urgent action needs to be taken to revise international procedures in case of volcanic activity, and plans to establish a group to work on preparing a proposal to submit to the ICAO general assembly in September.
A number of short-term and temporary relief measures have also been unveiled, including a recommendation that slot co-ordinators take into account the effects of the crisis and allow airlines to hold on to the slots they were unable to use.
In addition, the Commission will not object to member states' temporarily waiving flight restrictions to help clear the backlog of passengers stranded as a result of the ash cloud.
Route charges could also be deferred for a "defined period of time" in order to "provide some relief to immediate cash flow problems". The Commission says it will make this recommendation to member states and Eurocontrol.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
