The EC transport commissioner Loyola de Palacio pledged to make the issue a top priority soon after taking up the reins late last year. And in December she went further in calling for the creation of a "Single Sky" ATC system, to replace the patchwork of nation systems which she believes has lain at the core of the problem. A meeting was scheduled for 28 January, to put that issue in front of transport ministers from the 15 European Union (EU) states.
The EC proposes a working party, chaired by Palacio and bringing together civil and military aviation officials from member states in an attempt to lay the issue to rest. The Eurocontrol structure, of which the EU is itself now a member, is the preferred vehicle for co-ordinating any new single airspace, but Palacio warns that "more radical options" may have to be considered, which would require "political commitment by the member states at the highest level".
The Association of European Airlines (AEA), which has long campaigned for action, has welcomed these new initiatives. This year's AEA chairman, Iberia chief Xabier de Irala, agrees that there is better rapport with the regulators, noting that the Commission is speaking with the "same voice" as the AEA.
"Now, we shall see whether this campaign for change and progress can find a wider acceptance," he adds. "In particular, we look forward to those ministers representing EU states fulfilling their [treaty] obligations in pursuing a single sky over the single market."
The Airport Council International (ACI) has leant its weight to the AEA campaign. "Delays are very much an airport problem, because the squalor happens on the ground", points out Philippe Hamon, director general at ACI Europe. He warns that if delays continue to rise there is a risk that some terminal buildings will be unable to cope. "We believe that there must be a public dialogue, a political dimension," he adds.
Source: Airline Business