On the occasion of the A4E Aviation Summit, Airlines For Europe (A4E) has called for the abolition of aviation taxes and called on the European Commission to tackle Air Traffic Control (ATC) strikes.
At its first Annual General Meeting and the launch of the A4E Aviation Summit, held in Brussels on Wednesday 8 February 2017, member airline CEOs met with European policymakers and industry stakeholders in Brussels.
On this occasion, A4E suggested that governments abolish aviation taxes which cost passengers €5.6 billion last year, as well as dealing with the damaging effects of ATC strikes and protecting the rights of European passengers during such strikes.
Thomas Reynaert, Managing Director of A4E commented: “Unreasonable aviation taxes, high airport charges and disrupted travel plans by ATC strikes are penalising passengers and undermining Europe’s economic growth and jobs”.
As such, A4E has urged the Commission to protect the right of European travellers and work together with Member States, Air Navigation Service Providers, unions and other stakeholders to minimise the impact on passengers.
Last year saw 41 strike days which has increased the overall number of strike days since 2010 to 217 accounting for over 35,000 cancelled flights and more than 7 million minutes of delay.
Moreover, in 2016, passengers paid €5.6 billion to Europe’s leading aviation tax collectors, namely the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Austria. In light of this, A4E has called on the European Commission to abolish these taxes.
Another result of the A4E Aviation Summit was the agreed cooperation between A4E and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) to enhance the performance of Europe's air traffic management (ATM) network.
