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Will have greater clarity in the formation of airport charges in Europe |
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Thursday, 23 October 2008 |
Several key principles must follow airport operators in the EU in setting airport charges: non-discrimination in application fees for transparency, consultation and the establishment and periodic review of quality standards.
This comes in a proposal for a directive on the basic principles in determining the fees adopted on second reading by Parliament.
According to the request of Deputies modulation of airport charges must take into account environmental issues.
The fees for providing services to disabled passengers with reduced mobility will be excluded from the scope of the directive will be published a list of airports with respect to which the directive.
Furthermore, each Member State should establish an independent regulatory body to ensure impartiality of the decisions and appropriate and effective implementation of the directive.
With the directive aims to prevent some airports in Europe to abuse its dominant market position and thus contribute to the harmonious development of the airport sector in Europe. The directive will apply to airports with annual traffic over 5 million passengers.
According to data from specialized studies, over 77 airports will be affected by the directive after its entry into force in 2010
Currently, the pricing of airport infrastructure is regulated nationally through systems that are not always justified, and provided information about them is poor, says the message of Parliament. It is therefore necessary to establish a common framework for regulation of the main features of airport charges and the method of determining it. The importance of this legislative proposal stems from the fact that airport charges represent between 4 percent and 8 percent of operating costs of airlines in the EU. |
World Business 
