The US House of Representatives has voted to ban Aerospatiale/British Aerospace Concorde operations into the USA. The decision is a reaction against European Union (EU) plans to restrict hushkitted aircraft in Western Europe.
The USA is concerned that the EU's action would harm the exclusively US hushkit industry by hitting residual values of hushkitted Boeing 727s and 737s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9s (Flight International, 17-23 February).
The 412-2 House vote must be matched by the US Senate, which has yet to schedule a ballot. Senate backing for the ban, unless vetoed by US President Bill Clinton, would prohibit Air France and British Airways Concorde flights from landing in the USA. Their only year-round scheduled destination is New York.
The European Commission's (EC) Transport Department, while denigrating "this unnecessarily aggressive" action, says the EU has put back final legislation by two weeks to mid-April "in the interests of speaking to the Americans".
The EC says this is not a trade issue but an environmental one, a vital concern in Europe, which is "an extremely urban place" compared with much of the USA. "We are acting completely in line with our trade obligations," it says.
The EU action proposes that Stage 2 aircraft registered in an EU state by 1 April, 1999, can be hushkitted at any time for compliance with Stage 3 noise rules by the International Civil Aviation Organisation's 2002 deadline. Even Stage 3-compliant hushkitted aircraft may not be added to the EU register after 1 April, however. After 2002, Stage 3 hushkitted aircraft from non-EU countries will not be allowed in the EU.
Should the EU adopt the anti-hushkit rule, the US threat is to revoke a waiver that allows Concorde to land at US airports. "The EU's action is a blatant effort to favour European equipment over US products," says Representative James Oberstar.
Concorde has a waiver from noise standards, despite not meeting Stage 2 noise standards.
Source: Flight International
