BRUSSELS - The International Air Carrier Association (IACA) notes with concern the antagonistic statements made by airlines in the debate around the Gulf carriers.
As a Brussels-based association representing 29 airlines, IACA fears this controversy is distracting the airlines from requesting the European legislators to reconsider a number of European policies that are detrimental to them.
The competitiveness challenge faced by the European airlines has its roots in inadequate, discriminatory and poorly implemented European policies.
It would be ill-advised to let the Commission and the Member States believe that they can escape a real debate on what is really dragging the airlines down: the prohibitive cost of the European infrastructure.
Airport and Air Traffic Control (ATC) costs represent almost 50% of an efficient airline’s cost structure, when the fuel cost is removed.
The Association’s Director General, Sylviane Lust, said: “IACA urges the new Commission and the Member States to acknowledge that they hold the key to restoring the competitiveness of the European airline sector and that they must act with determination and a sense of urgency.”
