WRITTEN QUESTION E-2705/00 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. Flight delays.
Date: 2000-09-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: air traffic, air transport, carriage of passengers, chartering, length of journey, transport company, transport regulations

C 136 E/80

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.5.2001

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-2692/00, E-2693/00, E-2694/00, E-2696/00, E-2697/00 and E-2698/00
given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(13 October 2000)

To estimate the extra annual cost of agricultural support resulting from the access to the Community of
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania it would be necessary to know with a reasonable
degree of certainty the date, the terms and conditions of the accession. These aspects will have to be
defined in the accession negotiations with these countries, the agricultural chapter of which has not yet
been opened for negotiation. Consequently, any cost estimate made on the basis of assumptions indicated
by the Honourable Member would necessarily be of a highly hypothetical, speculative and uncertain
nature. At the present stage of the negotiating process the Commission is therefore, not in a position to
answer the questions asked by the Honourable Member.

(2001/C 136 E/090)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2705/00

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(1 September 2000)

Subject: Flight delays

What is the average delay faced by charter flights, comparing scheduled time of departure with the actual
departure time, during the months of July and August in each Member State in each year for the last five
years?

What measures is the Commission taking to improve matters?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(23 October 2000)

Data on air traffic delays are collected by Eurocontrol(cid:146)s central office for delay analysis. The main source is
Eurocontrol(cid:146)s central flow management unit. These data are published in an aggregate form. Figures are
not published for charter flights only, but for all types of flights in week, month and yearly basis.

However, the Commission has obtained some data for individual charter airlines from which it appears
that during the month of August there were 770 000 flights in the European civil aviation conference
(ECAC) area, of which 150 000 were charter (August is peak season). The number of flights delayed was
220 000, of which 70 000 were charter flights.

While 20 % of total flights in all the ECAC area were charter flights, almost 50 % were delayed. In
comparison with scheduled flights they were strongly affected by the delays. It should be kept in mind that
charter flights are more sensitive to delays than scheduled flights. When a problem occurs charter airlines
cannot cancel flights (unlike scheduled flights) so there is an impact on delay statistics.

Charter airlines fly to many smaller and less well equipped airfields where any problem has implications
for timekeeping. The need for high utilisation to keep down charter fares, coupled with environmental
restrictions (e.g. night closures) and with slot pressures at the major dispatching airports, often results in
tight turnaround times which any problem can throw out of kilter.

8.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 136 E/81

The Honourable Member(cid:146)s attention is drawn to the fact that the Commission is taking several measures to
reduce air traffic congestion and air traffic delays. Following the high level group report, which is expected
to be finalised by October 2000, the Commission intends to present a number of legislative measures at
Community level, to harmonise, manage, design, regulate and ensure efficient utilisation of European
airspace without decreasing the current safety levels.

(2001/C 136 E/091)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2722/00

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(1 September 2000)

Subject: Agricultural incomes

What was the average income (in ecus/euros) of people engaged in agriculture in each Member State in
each of the last ten years?

What proportion of the national average income does this represent in each Member State in each of the
last ten years?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(13 October 2000)

Farm income may be defined in different ways. For comparison of levels of income from agricultural
activity among Member States, the Commission generally uses the real net value added at factor cost per
annual work unit that is available for all Member States. This parameter covers income generated by an
agricultural activity, but it is not fully representative of the overall income of farmers. First of all, rents,
interest and salaries paid are not deducted. Secondly, farmers may receive other types of income such as
wages, social benefits, income from non-agricultural activities, or pay taxes, social contributions, etc. The
income per capita is expressed on the basis of an annual working unit that broadly corresponds to a full-
time working equivalent.

The importance of the income from an agricultural activity within the total disposable income of the
agricultural population and of income elements such as rents, interests and wages varies considerably from
one Member State to another. These elements, combined with the harmonisation of the income calculation
across Member States, should be borne in mind when attempting to draw conclusions from any income
comparison exercise.

The average agricultural income for the 15 Member States for the 1990-1998 period is given in the tables
which are sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat, in euros and purchasing
power standard. Income statistics are not given for 1999 as the agricultural accounts are still provisional
for that year. Furthermore,
income statistics for 1999 have been established on the basis of a new
methodology for the agricultural accounts. Data are not available for all Member States on the basis of this
new methodology over a long time period.

Regarding the second question, it should be underlined that the proportion of the national average income
represented by the agricultural income, as defined above, does not constitute a meaningful indicator of the
relative situation of people engaged in agriculture. The income indicator used for agriculture is not
comparable with the average income per capita in the rest of the economy, notably in the sectors where
wages represent the main source of income, as agricultural income constitutes both the income of the
farmer (from his work) and the income or profit of his enterprise (this income is referred to as a mixed
income in national accounts). Moreover, the number of people engaged in agriculture is expressed in
volume terms, i.e. in annual work units, whereas such statistics is not established for other sectors of the
economy.