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I-Rome: operation of scheduled air services

Invitation to tender published by Italy pursuant to Article 4(1)(d) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, for the operation of scheduled air services between Crotone-Rome-Milan and vice versa

(2005/C 226/06)

1.   Introduction: Pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes, the Italian Government — Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, in accordance with Article 52(35) of Law No 448 of 28.12.2001, has decided to impose a public service obligation on scheduled air services between:

Crotone-Rome-Milan and vice versa.

The terms of this public service obligation were published in the Official Journal of the European Union C 225 of 14.9.2005.

Insofar as within 30 days of its publication no air carrier has commenced or is about to commence scheduled air services on the abovementioned route in accordance with the public service obligation imposed and without requesting financial compensation, the Government has decided, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 4(1)(d) of the abovementioned Regulation, to limit access to that route to a single air carrier and to offer by public tender the right to operate such services commencing on the fifteenth day following award of the tender.

2.   Subject of the invitation to tender: The operation of scheduled air services in accordance with the public service obligation imposed on the abovementioned routes and published in the Official Journal of the European Union C 225 of 14.9.2005.

3.   Participation and tender procedure: Participation is open to all air carriers who hold a valid operating licence issued by a Member State in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992 on licensing of air carriers.

This invitation to tender is subject to the provisions of Article 4(1)(d), (e), (f), (h) and (i) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92.

4.   Tender dossier — concession agreement: The conditions for taking part in the invitation to tender and the award criteria are set out in the tender dossier, which constitutes an integral part of this tender procedure.

The concession of the service will be governed by an agreement based on a model which may be obtained, together with the tender dossier and any other relevant information, from the following address:

ENAC — Area Trasporto Aereo, Viale del Castro Pretorio 118, I-00185 Rome; tel. (39) 06 44 59 61.

5.   Financial compensation: Tenders must explicitly state the amount of compensation required for operating the service for 2 years from the scheduled starting date, accounted on an annual basis. The exact amount of compensation finally granted will be determined annually ‘ex post’ on the basis of the proven costs and revenue actually generated by the service, within the limits of the amount indicated in the tender, as specified in the tender dossier.

The annual instalments will be made in the form of instalments and a balance. The balance will be paid only after approval of the carrier's accounts for the route in question and verification that the service has been operated in accordance with the conditions laid down in article 7 below.

6.   Fares: Tenders must indicate the proposed fare structure in accordance with the public service obligation published in the Official Journal of the European Union C 225 of 14.9.2005.

7.   Duration of the agreement: The agreement will run for 2 years, with the option to extend for a further 12 months, as of the date on which the scheduled air service on the route in question commences operation in accordance with the public service obligation imposed.

Proper compliance with the agreement and the carrier's cost accounting will be the subject of an annual examination in cooperation with the carrier. No changes will be made to the service provided without an additional agreement.

8.   Termination of agreement and notice: The agreement may be terminated by either contracting party before the end of the normal period of validity by giving 6 months' advance formal notice. If the carrier fails to respect the public service obligation, it will be deemed to have terminated the agreement without notice if it does not resume the service in accordance with the public service obligation within 1 month of being served notice so to do.

If, after the first 2 seasons of operation, less than 50 % of the capacity offered is used, the Italian civil aviation authority (ENAC) may reduce the frequency and/or minimum capacity laid down and adjust the financial compensation accordingly.

Failure by the carrier to observe the period of notice specified in the first paragraph of this article will be subject to a penalty calculated on the basis of the number of days of default and the profit or loss recorded on the route over the year in question. In no case will the penalty be greater than the amount of financial compensation referred to in article 5.

9.   Failure to fulfil the agreement: The carrier is responsible for seeing that the obligation incurred under the agreement is strictly carried out. In the event that the carrier fails to fulfil its obligation under the agreement wholly or in part for reasons other than force majeure or abnormal or unforeseeable events beyond the carrier's control, which it could not reasonably avoid, the agreement may be terminated after giving formal notice to the carrier within 10 days of learning of the event.

After receiving formal notice, the carrier is allowed up to 7 days to justify its position.

To ensure the continuity and regularity of flights, the carrier which accepts the public service obligation must provide a performance security guaranteeing the correct execution and continuation of the service. The security amounting to at least EUR 2 000 000 must be guaranteed by an insurance surety payable to ENAC (Ente Nazionale dell'Aviazione Civile), which will use the payment to ensure the continuation of the services concerned.

The security will be released automatically once the examination mentioned in the last paragraph of Article 7, carried out upon completion of the agreement, has been passed.

The number of flights cancelled in any year may not exceed 2 % of the total annual number of flights, excluding cases of force majeure. The carrier must pay the regulatory body a penalty of EUR 3 000 for every flight cancelled over this limit. The penalties must be paid on top of the sums paid to passengers under current legislation as denied boarding compensation (DBC).

The agreement will be terminated automatically when the number of flights cancelled for reasons directly attributable to the carrier exceeds 4 % of the number of flights scheduled for the service concerned in any scheduling season.

The agreement will also be terminated automatically if the tenderer's operating licence or air operator's certificate (AOC) is suspended or revoked.

If the agreement is terminated, ENAC may require the carrier to continue the service on an interim basis under the same conditions or until a new operator is selected.

In the event that the carrier is prevented from operating services on the routes in question on account of:

hazardous weather conditions,

closure of one of the airports,

issues of public safety,

industrial action,

security problems,

or force majeure,

the amount of financial compensation will be reduced in proportion to the number of flights not carried out.

10.   Submission of tenders: Tenders, which in order to be valid must be drawn up in accordance with the provisions of the tender dossier, must reach the following address no later than 60 days after the date of publication of this invitation to tender in the Official Journal of the European Union in a closed and sealed envelope by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, or delivered by hand with receipt:

ENAC, Direzione Generale, Viale del Castro Pretorio 118, I-00185 Rome.

The date of receipt will be deemed to be the date of the postmark for registered letters and the date of receipt for hand deliveries.

11.   Validity of the invitation to tender: Pursuant to Article 4(1)(d) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, the validity of this invitation to tender is subject to the condition that no Community carrier agrees to operate the route in accordance with the public service obligation published in Official Journal of the European Union C 225 of 14.9.2005 within 30 days of its publication and without requesting any financial compensation.

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