Airport Charges Directive

The EU-wide Directive on airport charges mainly aims to harmonise existing airport charges. This does not necessarily mean higher charges but could mean even lower charges on the average. The Commission proposes to apply the principle of cost-relatedness, which means that charges should be based on the costs of facilities and services provided by the airport. An option for modulating airport charges in terms of environment (e.g. noise) and introducing noise or gaseous emission charges is mentioned - a proposal which faces opposition by the airline associations.

Today, airport charges can be used to finance future infrastructure ('virtual buildings'). This is a mechanism which makes airport expansion easier. There is a debate now to end this option.

AIRPORT CHARGES DIRECTIVE

Background:

Currently a wide range of airport charges exist within EU countries. Almost all of these charges are non-environmental.

Commission Directorate responsible:

DG VII (Transport).

Proposal for a Council Directive on airport charges, COM (97)0154, 12 November 1997.

Developments:

DG VII submitted a proposal for a Directive some time in 1997 to harmonise the existing regimes of airport charges within the European Union. The Commission wants to establish a set of basic rules to ensure that charges are fair. The draft Directive puts forward three basic principles which airport charges must comply to: transparency, cost-relatedness and non-discrimination. Under this proposal there is room for national level (environmental) emission charges.

Parliament:

Rapporteur: Mr. Paavo Väyrynen, (ELDR, FIN).

After the Commission approved the draft Directive, it was forwarded to the European Parliament. First reading at the Plenary session in the Parliament took place end March/beginning April, where a simple majority was required for amendments to be adopted.

The text of the amendments adopted is available at FoE Europe.

Update

On July 22nd the Commission announced the adoption of its White Paper "Fair Payment for Infrastructure Use: A phased approach to a common transport infrastructure charging framework in the EU" (COM(98) 466 final). In it's press release, the Commission summarized the paper as follows:

"The European Commission has adopted a White Paper proposing a new harmonised approach to paying for infrastructure use across all commercial modes of transport, which would gradually replace the existing patchwork of charging arrangements. In so doing it is building on the recommendation of the High Level Group on infrastructure charging which recommended a common approach to transport pricing in the European Union. The proposals are also inspired by efforts of several Member States to try and resolve some of the problems of traffic congestion by devising a fairer, more transparent charging system. When implemented, the overall savings to the transport system, passed on to users, would be in the order of at least ECU 50 billion a year.

In the section of the White Paper specifically dealing with Airport Charges, the Commission's conclusions are as follows:

To improve the use made of airports, and reduce the possibility for excessive charging, the Commission's proposal for a Council Directive on airport charges proposes applying the principle of "cost-relatedness". This implies that airport charges should be based on the costs of facilities and services provided by the airport, allowing for a reasonable return on capital, the proper depreciation of assets, as well as the efficient management of capacity. The proposed Directive also proposes developing the transparency of airport accounts, establishing mandatory consultation procedures. In addition, the proposal, if adopted, would include the options of implementing congestion (peak/off-peak) charging, possibilities for modulating airport charges in terms of the environment (e.g. noise) as well as introducing noise or gaseous emission charges and provisions for monitoring airport efficiency.

The Commission's new proposal is reportedly based on non-discrimination, cost-relatedness and transparency. This requires airports to consult with users in setting charges, to make the charges clear, fair and equitable. Clearly this leaves plenty of scope for argument among all the parties. Modulation, for example, where airports can charge higher rates to account for financial, capacity or environmental constraints is hotly debated. The European Regions Airlines Association opposes modulation as it means member airlines can be charged higher rates for using airports at peak times.

Another issue under fierce debate concerns airport charges used to pay for future infrastructure, or 'virtual buildings'. The AEA wants an end to this, while the ERA suggests adopting ICAO recommendations requiring airports to charge for new buildings only when they come into operation