Despite advances aimed at addressing the airport-capacity problems of the late 1980s, Europe is again facing scenes of delayed flights, packed airport terminals and angry passengers. Although measures have been largely successful in easing the region's overcrowded skies, hold-ups in the approval of airport-infrastructure projects and delays in enhancing air-traffic-control systems, along with slot-allocations issues, have allowed many of the problems to return.
Herman de Croo, chairman of the European Union's 1993-4 Comite des Sages, says: "We have found that, even today, a fleet equivalent to twice the size of Sabena's is permanently in the air because of congestion at European airports. Of course, that is not a reality as such, but, if you count all the hours lost because of congestion on the ground, it equates to 65-70 aircraft being held in a holding pattern, around the clock. Mainly because of liberalisation and greater demand for travel, we see a year-on-year growth of 3-4% and, if we don't do something about this problem soon, then congestion at airports across the continent will get much worse."
A former Belgian transport minister, chairman of the European Council of Transport Ministers and president of both the Permanent and Extended Eurocontrol Commission, de Croo is widely recognised as the driving force behind the extension of Zavantem Airport in Brussels. He is a firm believer that the clock is counting down toward congestion on a greater scale than ever before.
"In attempting to solve this problem, we largely support the various European Commission [EC] initiatives to improve airport infrastructure, but feel that, in approving new development, a balance must be struck between the interests of local airport communities and the global benefit to the community as a whole," he says.
PUBLIC-INQUIRY ROLE
To that end, De Croo argues that the EC must take a much more pro-active role in the process of public scrutiny. He concedes that handing the role of inquiry in its entirety to the EC would be difficult, but adds: "If we take the global approach, then it must be possible to enact a set of guidelines which cannot be overturned by regional or national authorities."
He says, that the aim would be, to set finite limits on the lengths of public inquiries, while being sensitive to environmental issues, eliminate the possibility of developments being held up in the courts and put a stop to new airport construction, taking decades to progress, from drawing board to opening day.
Louise Congdon, head of the Airports Council International Europe Task Force on Trans European Networks and Capacity, says: "I don't think the EC could take over the public-inquiry role totally, given the principles of subsidiarity."
She points out that the UK does it the other way round. "First, there's the detailed and lengthy public consultation, then it goes through to Government and we're never quite sure whether a decision will ever come out the other end. In Germany, a quick decision is likely, but often gets overturned in the courts and one always suspects that, in places like France, Italy and Spain, they just decide to go ahead without any approvals procedure as such."
This creates inconsistency and Congdon thinks that, on the back of a recent environmental impact directive, the Commission could issue guidelines, setting out maximum lengths for consultation and the hearing of evidence, but leave the administration of it, in terms of who has a right to have their say, to local determination.
De Croo agrees that the only sensible approach to reducing the impact which aviation has on the environment is to build to meet demand. "In order to reduce hazardous emissions, it is infinitely preferable to reduce taxi times and also to keep aircraft in the air for the shortest time possible. That is another key reason why the Comite des Sages recommends that a balance be struck between local and global interest," he says.
That may be so, but a legal framework to accommodate the requirements of developers and environmental lobbyists needs to be established quickly if the problems of congestion at, and above, airports in Europe are to be solved sensibly.
Source: Flight International
