WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3399/98 by Luciano SCHIFONE Disastrous opening of Malpensa 2000
Date: 1998-11-17
Institutions: European Parliament, SCHIFONE
Subjects: Israel, air traffic, air transport, airport, carriage of passengers, competence of the Member States, organisation of transport, public service, regional development













EUR-Lex - 91998E3399 - EN






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91998E3399

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3399/98 by Luciano SCHIFONE Disastrous opening of Malpensa 2000  


Official Journal C 289 , 11/10/1999 P. 0045 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-3399/98by Luciano Schifone (NI) to the Commission(17 November 1998)Subject: Disastrous opening of Malpensa 2000The disastrous opening of the Malpensa 2000 airport, with massive delays, disorganisation and general chaos, has caused serious inconvenience to passengers, who have frequently had to wait several hours for departures, where they have not had to abandon their travel plans altogether owing to the many flight cancellations.This situation has confirmed the anxieties and criticisms that had been voiced in a number of quarters, including European circles, regarding the presumed inefficiency and inadequacy of the structural and managerial organisation of the new airport.Since the inconveniences and repercussions of this confusion are likely to have a negative economic effect on the regions in the South of Italy, which are once again cut off from their connections to the North and, to a large extent, to the capitals of Europe, does the Commission not consider that there is a case for intervention to protect passengers and to combat the process of marginalisation of the South which has been carried forward by a policy of interference on the market pursued by the Government and Italy's flag carrier?Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission(21 December 1998)Community law expressly recognises the right of the Member States to determine the objectives and priorities of their own airport policy. They may consequently decide to favour the development of a particular airport by adopting traffic distribution rules which have the purpose of concentrating traffic at that airport. Similarly, Member States are also legally free to pursue regional policy objectives through the imposition of public service obligations on specific routes which are considered to be vital for the economic development of a region.On this basis, the Commission can only intervene in circumstances where measures adopted by Member States are in breach of Community law. This was the case with the traffic distribution rules initially adopted by Italy for the airport system of Milan because they did not respect the principle of non-discrimination or the principle of proportionality. The decision adopted by the Commission on 16 September 1998 reached that conclusion because the level of traffic to be handled by Malpensa aiport would have been incompatible with existing access infrastructures and because all carriers were not treated in the same way.However, the Commission does not have the legal right to assume responsibility for the quality of airport management in the Member States, nor can it impose the operation of specific air routes to certain regions.