Today, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on the “Implementation of the 2011 White paper on transport: taking stock and the way forward towards sustainable mobility”.
The Association of European Airlines (AEA) welcomes the fact that the Parliament stressed the importance of European airport hubs which enable European airlines to operate direct intercontinental flights to destinations overseas while maintaining a robust feeder network. AEA also applauds the Parliament’s criticism of taxes imposed on aviation as these taxes have a detrimental effect on the industry’s competitiveness.
The Resolution, which was prepared by the Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism under the guidance of rapporteur Wim van de Camp (EPP, the Netherlands), acknowledges the importance of the transport sector as a driving force for connectivity, employment and growth in the European economy. The resolution contains concrete proposals to address infrastructure improvements in the air and on the ground, the implementation of a level playing field to safeguard fair competition, the promotion of sustainable alternative fuels and the move to a risk-based approach in aviation security.
Commenting on the adoption of the Resolution, AEA’s CEO, Athar Husain Khan, said: “We are pleased that the European Parliament resolution reflects a number of the issues that AEA has been actively promoting as prerequisites for a competitive European airline industry policy. However, further discussion is needed on certain proposals related to social affairs. We now call upon the European Commission to take these recommendations into account when drafting the forthcoming Aviation package.”
AEA’s comprehensive paper on the Aviation Package can be downloaded here.
