Trade bodies swell growing opposition to Eurocontrol's proposal to regulate airport approach and navigational charges
European business aircraft operators met Eurocontrol last week to demand changes to the air traffic body's proposed charge structure.
Representatives from trade bodies the European Council of General Aviation Support (Ecogas) and the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) attended a workshop at Eurocontrol's Brussels headquarters, where they added their voices to the growing chorus of concern over the proposed charge structure.
Both associations are worried by the haste of the drafting and consultation periods, but Ecogas co-ordinator Mark Wilson says the idea of collecting airport fees centrally is of most concern. Eurocontrol is proposing, as part of its recommendations to the European Commission's Single European Sky initiative, to regulate airport approach and navigational charges along with en-route charges.
"The system of airport fees varies from country to country and our preference would be that for the time being, they shouldn't try to wrap up air traffic control at aerodromes within en-route charges," says Wilson.
Ecogas and EBAA say that medium-sized airports used by business aviation are creative in their approach to fees, encouraging corporate movements. The associations fear not only that this flexibility would disappear with centrally regulated fees, but also that fixed- base operations and airport operators would see costs rise to process the paperwork. "We've done an analysis at one business aviation airport in the south east of England that shows that they would have to employ two additional staff to process the fees," says Wilson.
The associations say fears over the abolition of weight-based charging bands seems to have largely dissipated, with most countries now favouring the current system.
JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON
Source: Flight International
