EN Official Journal of the European Union C 305/13

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

Imposition of a public service obligation on scheduled air services within Italy

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2006/C 305/05)

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 has decided, in accordance with the decisions taken at an interdepartmental conference with the Region of Sicily, to impose a public service obligation on scheduled air services on the following routes:

1. Routes concerned

Pantelleria — Palermo and vice versa

Lampedusa — Palermo and vice versa

Lampedusa — Catania and vice versa

Lampedusa — Rome and vice versa

Pantelleria — Rome and vice versa

In accordance with Annex II to Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92, Rome as a destination is to be understood as the Rome airport system, comprising Rome-Fiumicino and Rome-Ciampino.

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 operation of services under the terms specified in this notice.

1.2. The above routes must be accepted in their entirety and as a whole by the carriers concerned.

1.3. ENAC will verify whether the accepting carriers possess the requisite structure and meet the minimum requirements for access to the service in order to meet the objectives pursued by the imposition of the public service obligation.

2. Details of the public service obligation

2.1. Minimum frequencies

(a) Pantelleria — Palermo and vice versa

The minimum frequencies are as follows:

— at least one flight per day in each direction throughout the year using a 44-seater aircraft;

— at least one flight per day in each direction throughout the year using a 120-seater aircraft;

— between 1 May and 30 October, in addition to these two flights, there are to be three flights per week in each direction, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, using a 44-seater aircraft.

(b) Lampedusa — Palermo and vice versa

The minimum frequencies are as follows:

— at least one flight per day in each direction throughout the year using a 44-seater aircraft;

— at least one flight per day in each direction throughout the year using a 120-seater aircraft;

— between 1 May and 30 October, in addition to these two flights, there are to be three flights per week in each direction, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, using a 44-seater aircraft.

(c) Lampedusa — Catania and vice versa

The minimum frequencies are as follows:

— between 31 October and 30 April, at least three flights per week in each direction using a 44-seater aircraft;

— between 1 May and 30 October, at least one flight per day in each direction using a 44-seater aircraft.

(d) Lampedusa — Rome and vice versa

The minimum frequency is as follows:

— between 1 October and 31 May, at least two flights per week in each direction using a 120-seater aircraft.

(e) Pantelleria — Rome and vice versa

The minimum frequency is as follows:

— between 1 October and 31 May, at least one flight per week in each direction using a 120-seater aircraft.

If an aircraft normally used to carry out public service operations is not operational, an alternative aircraft must be provided within four hours.

The whole capacity of each aircraft must be made available for sale under the public service obligation arrangements.

2.2. Timetables

Between Pantelleria and Palermo there must be at least:

— one flight leaving between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.;

— one flight leaving between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Between Palermo and Pantelleria there must be at least:

— one flight leaving between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.;

— one flight leaving between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Between Lampedusa and Palermo there must be at least:

— one flight leaving between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.;

— one flight leaving between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Between Palermo and Lampedusa there must be at least:

— one flight leaving between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.;

— one flight leaving between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Between Lampedusa and Catania and vice versa, Lampedusa and Rome and vice versa and Pantelleria and Rome and vice versa, timetables must allow connections with the network of scheduled national and international air services from Catania and Rome respectively.

2.3 Aircraft used and capacity offered

The services from Pantelleria to Palermo and vice versa and from Lampedusa to Palermo and vice versa must be operated using pressurised twin-prop or twin-jet aircraft with a minimum capacity of 44 seats per flight and by aircraft with a minimum capacity of 120 seats per flight as specified in points 2.1(a) and 2.1(b) respectively.

The services from Lampedusa to Catania and vice versa must be operated using pressurised twin-prop or twin-jet aircraft with a minimum capacity of 44 seats per flight as specified in point 2.1(c).

The Lampedusa-Rome and Pantelleria-Rome services must be operated using aircraft with a minimum capacity of 120 seats per flight as specified in points 2.1(d) and 2.1(e) respectively.

If the market so requires, extra capacity must be provided through supplementary flights, which will not give rise to extra compensation or result in the application of fares different from those specified at 2.4 below.

On all the above services there will be a reserve of three seats to be used for urgent medical or health cases or to meet the requirements of official bodies. Of these three seats, two may not be booked or sold until 24 hours before departure and one until 12 hours before departure.

Flights carried out using aircraft with a minimum capacity of 120 seats must offer adequate guarantees for the transport of persons with disabilities (WCHR, WCHS, WCHC) and of stretchers, coffins and, if necessary, goods.

The carrier which accepts the public service obligation must, subject to safety considerations which may justify denied boarding, make every effort to facilitate the carriage, on the aircraft used, of passengers with disabilities and passengers with reduced mobility.

2.4. Fares

(a) The maximum fares to be charged on each route are as follows: Pantelleria — Palermo or vice versa: EUR 29 Lampedusa — Palermo or vice versa: EUR 31 Lampedusa — Catania or vice versa: EUR 31 Lampedusa — Rome or vice versa: EUR 60 Pantelleria — Rome or vice versa: EUR 60 All the fares indicated are exclusive of VAT and net of airport taxes and charges — no form of surcharge may be applied. All passengers who travel on these routes will be entitled to the above fares. At least one method of distributing and selling tickets must be provided which is entirely free of charge and imposes no other costs on passengers.

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

(c) If the average euro/US dollar exchange rate and/or the average cost of fuel the varies by more than 5 % over the half-year, the fares must be adjusted in proportion to such variation and to the share of flight costs represented by fuel.

Any fare adjustments will be made every six months by the Minister for Transport, in agreement with the President of the Region of Sicily. In the event of an increase in excess of the indicated percentage, the Joint Technical Committee will initiate the procedure for deciding on an adjustment upon receiving notice from the carriers operating the routes concerned. In the event of a decrease, the procedure will be initiated automatically. During the abovementioned examination procedure, the carriers operating the routes concerned must be given an opportunity to comment.

Any adjustment to fares will take effect as from the six-month period following that in which it is decided.

Adjustments will be notified to all carriers operating on the routes and to the European Commission for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.5. Continuity of service

For the purpose of guaranteeing the continuity, regularity and punctuality of the service, the carrier which accepts the public service obligation must undertake to:

— operate the service for a period of at least 12 consecutive months and give at least 6 months' prior notice of suspension;

— align its conduct vis-à-vis users with the principles set out in the Charter of Passengers' Rights in order to comply with the relevant national, Community and international rules;

— provide a performance security of EUR 800 000,00 for the purpose of guaranteeing the correct performance and continuation of the service. This must take the form of an insurance bond to ENAC (the Italian National Civil Aviation Authority), which may use it to ensure the continuation of the public service obligation arrangements;

— operate at least 98 % of the flights scheduled each year, with a maximum cancellation margin of 2 % for reasons directly attributable to the carrier, excepting force majeure;

— pay the regulatory body EUR 3 000,00 in respect of each flight cancelled in excess of the 2 % annual cancellation limit. Sums received in this connection will be allocated to the territorial continuity heading of the budget of Sicily;

— guarantee that flights are operated to within 30 minutes of the established timetable (punctuality index);

— compensate each passenger for any delay of more than 30 minutes by giving a credit of EUR 15,00 to be used in the purchase of a subsequent ticket.

The abovementioned rules will not apply to cancelled flights and flights delayed due to weather conditions, industrial action or events beyond the responsibility and/or control of the carrier.

The penalties under this section may be combined with those under Legislative Decree No 69 of 27 January 2006 laying down provisions governing penalties for contravention of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights.