European Commission proposes new air package to cut costs, pollution

The European Commission has tabled a set of proposals that would re-dimension the way air-traffic in the EU is conducted.

The aim is to make passenger life easier and cut costs and pollution. The plan - to be known as Single European Sky II - was unveiled by the new Italian commissioner responsible for transport, Antonio Tajani.

It introduces rules that seek to cut the flight paths of many routes and merge national air-traffic control systems into nine regional blocs. The hope is that the plan will make the EU aviation sector more environmentally friendly, increase airport capacity and help cope with rising fuel costs.

The EU executive is planning to have the package ready to enter into force next year or the year after, at the latest, although this depends on the approval by member states and the European Parliament.

Mr Tajani said the division of Europe's skies into 27 national airspaces means the 28,000 daily passenger and freight flights in the EU are, on average, 49 kilometres longer than necessary.

The proposal also aims to reduce aeroplane queues on take-off and landing so that flights will have a greater chance of arriving on time.

A former air-traffic controller himself, Mr Tajani said the package will save the EU aviation industry about €2 to €3 billion a year, a cost caused partly by airplanes being forced to circle overhead while waiting to land. Cutting the time spent in the air could cut carbon emissions by 10 per cent, or 16 million tonnes a year.

The measures also tackle the shortage of runways and airport facilities, which threaten to lead to major bottlenecks.

The initiative seeks to better co-ordinate airport slots issued to aircraft operators and the establishment of an airport capacity observatory to fully integrate airports in the aviation network.

Although the EU executive is hopeful its proposals will be positively received by member states, the plans to create regional air-traffic control blocks could meet objections from member states that have, over past years, sought to preserve their sovereignty over national airspace. Member states also consider their airspace as a source of income. Malta, which has a very large airspace, makes millions of euros from charges paid by planes using it. Problems of this sort had emerged in 2004 when the Commission launched the first Single European Sky package. Member states had resisted suggestions to merge skies.

The tabled proposals also give greater powers to the European Aviation Safety Agency, a supranational regulator of EU skies. This is also expected to be a major bone of contention for various member states.