Kate Sarsfield/LONDON
Four leading European general aviation associations have formed a pressure group to tackle the problem of airport access for business aircraft in Europe.
Called the Business Aviation Fighting Force (BAFF), the organisation, which incorporates the European Business Aviation Association, the UK General Aviation Manufacturers and Traders Association (GAMTA), Heathrow Executive Jet Operators Association and the UK Business Aircraft Users Association has been set up to create a unified voice and to raise the profile of business aviation in Europe. "Growing congestion at European airports and negative attitudes by airport management has meant that business aviation is unable to obtain the landing and take-off slots that business people require," says BAFF.
The group, which will hold its inaugural meeting in Brussels, Belgium on 25 March, will lobby "decision makers" in the European Commission and the various national governments across the region, to recognise the economic value of business aviation.
"If you are a custodian of a national transportation asset, like an airport, you have a moral duty to give a mix of access to other users," says GAMTA chief executive Graham Forbes. The new organisation will also campaign for continued open access to major airports and for sustained use of reliever airports. "The situation at airports like London Heathrow and Gatwick, Amsterdam Schiphol, Rome, Madrid and Zurich is reaching crisis point," says Forbes.
Source: Flight International
