EN Official Journal of the European Union C 225/13

Commission notice pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92

Imposition of a public service obligation in respect of scheduled air services within Italy

(2005/C 225/05)

(Text with EEA relevance)

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, in accordance with Article 52(35) of Law No 448 of 28 December 2001, has decided to impose s public service obligation in respect of scheduled air services operated on the following route:

1. Route

Crotone-Rome-Milan and vice versa.

1.1. By virtue of Article 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 793/2004, the competent authorities may reserve certain slots for the performance of services under the arrangements specified in this notice.

1.2. With a view to meeting the objectives being pursued through the imposition of the public service obligation, ENAC will check that accepting carriers have the appropriate structure and that they meet the minimum requirements for access to the service.

2 The public service obligation in question is as follows:

2.1 Minimum frequency

At least two outward and two return flights per day all year round on the route in question.

The entire capacity of each aircraft must be offered for sale under the PSO terms with no quotas. At the intermediate airport of Rome on the Rome-Milan leg, and at Milan airport on the Milan-Rome leg, seats which have not been reserved for the entire Crotone-Milan and Milan-Crotone journey may be sold at the market rate. To this end, open-rate bookings must be accepted no more than ten hours prior to the aircraft's departure from Crotone airport on the Crotone-Rome-Milan route and from Milan airport on the Milan-Rome-Crotone route.

2.2. Timetables

On the Crotone-Rome-Milan route:

— 1 flight departing between 06.45 and 07.45

— 1 flight departing between 14.30 and 15.30

Except in cases of force majeure, departure for Milan must occur within 60 minutes of arrival in Rome.

On the Milan-Rome-Crotone route:

— 1 flight departing between 10.30 and 11.30

— 1 flight departing between 18.30 and 19.30

Except in cases of force majeure, departure for Crotone must occur within 60 minutes of arrival in Rome.

2.3. Type of aircraft used

The aircraft used must provide a minimum capacity of 90 places all year round on the Crotone-Rome-Milan service and on the Milan-Rome-Crotone service.

2.4. Capacity

The minimum daily capacity provided all year round must be 180 places on the Crotone-Rome-Milan service and 180 places on the Milan-Rome-Crotone service.

2.5. Fares

(a) The maximum fares to be applied on each route are as follows: — Crotone-Rome: EUR 66,00 — Crotone-Milan (via Rome ): EUR 94,00 — Milan-Crotone (via Rome): EUR 94,00 — Rome-Crotone: EUR 66,00 All the above fares are net of VAT, airport taxes and charges; no form of surcharge may be levied. At least one form of ticket distribution and sale must be provided which is entirely free of charge and places no additional economic burden on passengers. All passengers travelling on the Crotone-Rome, Crotone-Milan, Milan-Crotone and Rome-Crotone routes are entitled to the fares described above. Only passengers using the Rome-Milan and Milan-Rome routes are subject to payment of tickets at the market rate.

(b) Every year the competent authorities will adjust the maximum fares in accordance with the rate of inflation of the previous year calculated on the basis of the ISTAT/FOI general index of consumer prices. Adjustments will be notified to all carriers operating the services in question, and to the European Commission for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(c) If the average recorded in each half-year of the euro/US dollar exchange rate and/or the cost of aviation spirit changes by more than 5 %, fares must be adjusted in proportion to the change recorded and in proportion to the share of flight costs represented by fuel. Any fare adjustments will be carried out every six months by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport on the basis of a review performed by ENAC. Any adjustment will enter into force as of the next half-year. Adjustments will be notified to all carriers operating the services in question, and to the European Commission for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.6. Continuity of service

For the purpose of guaranteeing the continuation, regular execution and punctuality of the service, the carriers which accept the public service obligation must:

— provide a performance security for the correct execution and continuation of the service. The security amounting to at least EUR 2 million 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.

— carry out at least 98 % of the flights scheduled in any year, with the number of cancellations for reasons directly attributable to the carrier, excluding cases of force majeure, limited to a maximum 2 %;

— pay the regulatory body a penalty of EUR 3 000 for every flight cancelled over the 2 % limit. The sums received as penalties will be allocated to the territorial continuity heading of the Crotone municipal budget. The penalties must be paid on top of the sums paid to passengers under current legislation as denied boarding compensation (DBC).