WRITTEN QUESTION E-1183/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(1 April 2003)

Subject: Shifting traffic flows in air transport as a result of subsidised cooperation between regional airports and new entrants to the market

1. Does the Commission recall that, over the past few decades, large airports were built 10 to 40 km from large cities, easily accessible by a direct connection to the rail network from the city and its sphere of influence within a radius of several hundred km?

2. Is the Commission aware that new airlines are mostly creating connections between airports at former military bases, or near smaller cities, leading to a shift in international passenger flows away from central airports sited near large conurbations and railway stations towards places which are completely dependent on road transport to and from the airport, just as airports used to be in the old days.

3. Is the Commission aware that there is increased cooperation between formerly unimportant regional airports and new airlines, with each becoming dependent on the other, because the airports are looking for new customers and the new entrants to the airline market want to keep their costs down?

4. To what extent is the small airports' offer to cut-price airlines to use their runways and airport facilities, at a low price compared with conventional airports, made possible by the use of public funds by the local authorities or regional governments concerned? Does this constitute prohibited state aid or distortion of competition?

5. What measures is the Commission taking to encourage international, and in particular inter-continental, flights to remain or become concentrated at airports sited near large conurbations with good rail connections?

6. What measures is the Commission taking to encourage regional airports to be used exclusively for the needs of local towns and regions located far from a central airport, rather than as a cheap and inconvenient competitor to central airports?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2003)

The Commission is aware of the existence of rail links to notably the larger airports in the Union. However, not all large Union airports are directly linked to a rail net.

The Commission is aware of the recent developments in the air transport sector within the Union including the emerging of the so called low cost carriers which for a number of reasons have a cost structure different from the incumbent air carriers. Some of these low cost carriers, but not all, concentrate their activities on other than the large airports in the Union. There are no indications that because of these developments international passenger flows are being diverted generally. Rather, the flights offered by low cost carriers respond to a changing and increasing demand of the travelling public for a new type of air services: direct point-to-point flights with significantly reduced customer service, which are not booked through a travel agent but via internet. The Commission notes that the new situation in air transport is also the result of an open market access regime where operators and customers can take decisions serving their best own interests.

To what extent air carriers can use smaller airports against lower air charges than are considered normal is not easy to say as agreed reductions to the official tariffs or special conditions are not always public knowledge, and as the Commission is not systematically informed about such cases either. Whether in specific cases State aids are involved and competition is distorted, has to be judged on a case by case basis. In the case of Ryanair, which has allegedly received favourable commercial operating conditions from the Walloon authorities and the airport of Charleroi under which conditions the carrier now operates to Charleroi, the Commission has taken the decision to open a formal investigation whether the State aids involved violate Article 87 EC of the EC Treaty. The investigation is currently in progress.

The Commission's policy is not aimed at encouraging air carriers to deploy their commercial activities to one or the other particular category of airports. The choice for such airports is the result of commercial considerations by air carriers in a liberal market regime. It is not for the Commission to interfere in such decisions as long as Community law is fully respected.