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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 2004 2009 Session document FINAL A6-0349/2007 27.9.2007 REPORT on Airport capacity and ground handling: towards a more efficient policy (2007/2092(INI)) Committee on Transport and Tourism Rapporteur: Anne E. Jensen RR\390495EN.doc PE390.495v03-00 EN EN PR_INI CONTENTS Page MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION.............................................3 EXPLANATORY STATEMENT ............................................................................................11 OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AND MONETARY AFFAIRS...........16 OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS ............20 OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON CIVIL LIBERTIES, JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS ..................................................................................................................................24 OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT................................27 RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE.......................................................................30 PE390.495v03-00 2/30 RR\390495EN.doc EN MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION on Airport capacity and ground handling: towards a more efficiency policy (2007/2092(INI)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission's communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - An action plan for airport capacity, efficiency and safety in Europe (COM(2006)0819), – having regard to the Commission's report on the application of Council Directive 96/67/EC of 15 October 1996 (COM(2006)0821), – having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinions of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on Regional Development and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A6-0349/2007), A. whereas globalisation and rapid economic growth will result, in the EU, in a growth in demand for flights (traffic without airport constraints) averaging at least 4.3% per annum and most probably as much as 5.2% per annum; B. whereas, by the year 2025, this would result in a growth in demand for flights 2.5 times higher than that of 2003; C. whereas in 2025, with all new investments taken into account, more than 60 airports will be unable to handle the typical busy hourly demand without generating delays or unaccommodated demand (3.7 million flights a year would then be unaccommodated); D. whereas, given that existing airports cannot expand as required, one of the ways to handle the large number of unaccommodated flights in 2025 could be the construction of relief airports in the vicinity of their congested counterparts, E. whereas the shortage of capacity and the increase in demand for flights will probably lead to demand for new major airports (up to 10 according to a Eurocontrol study) and medium-sized airports (up to 15 according to Eurocontrol), F. whereas those future developments in the European air transport sector highlight the need to to anticipate the necessary steps to be taken at EU level for the benefit of Union citizens and of the EU economy as a whole; G. whereas efficient ground-handling services also play a part in improving the use of current airport capacity by accelerating throughput in airports; H. whereas full implementation of Directive 96/67/EC on access to the ground handling RR\390495EN.doc 3/30 PE390.495v03-00 EN market at Community airports1 and possible amendments thereto,in order to improve efficiency in the provision of those services, could also enhance the use of airport capacity; I. whereas traditional airlines, low-cost airlines, charter companies, freight companies and business aircraft have different requirements in terms of airport services and slot allocation, J. whereas adequate transport infrastructure to and from airports, particularly in the form of an integrated public transport system, is an essential part of airport infrastructure, 1. Welcomes the abovementioned Commission communication as a first step in addressing the issue of airport capacity, although the planning of new infrastructure remains within the competence of the Member States; calls at the same time on the Commission to accord air transport the attention it deserves as a central element of goods and passenger transport in Europe; further calls on the Commission to monitor, and present precise statistics relating to, the current situation in order to better tackle the problem of capacity; 2. Notes that adequate airport capacity and efficient groundhandling and use of capacity are vital to the European economy and must be ensured; 3. Welcomes the Commission's proposals and stresses the importance of air transport in ensuring territorial, economic and social cohesion in the Union, in particular with regard to remote, peripheral and island regions; 4. Considers that the 14 measures suggested by the Commission in its Communication represent a consistent approach for improving the use of current capacities; nevertheless requests the Commission to set more concrete deadlines for their implementation and insists on those deadlines being respected; Building new capacities 5. Considers, however, that the Commission has not yet fully investigated the possibility of a global EU approach as regards the need for extra capacity, the constraints on future investments in additional capacity and the strategic axes that would not only allow the risks of a capacity crunch to be anticipated but also ensure that the EU becomes a cohesive and competitive air transport platform at global level; 6. Proposes to introduce a survey of actual demand for infrastructure, which would improve any futurecomprehensive European airport capacity plan and could become an accepted EU-wide air transport forecasting mechanism; highlights that such a mechanism could be used by airports as a planning framework for capacity improvement and thatthe advantage of a demand-based forecast is that it provides a realistic market picture for the development of air transport; 7. Notes that one of the biggest barriers to the liberalisation of groundhandling services and efficiency, as alluded to by many of the Community's airports, is a lack of space, but 1 OJ L 272, 25.10.1996, p.36 PE390.495v03-00 4/30 RR\390495EN.doc EN considers that such a contention needs to be verified and, where necessary, resolved; 8. Stresses the need to develop common definitions and common analytical tools for airport capacity assessments as well as procedures for the involvement of all stakeholders in the mid-and long-term airport capacity needs of the EU; notes that this collaborative approach could be accompanied by an exchange of good practice on topics such as environmental impact and cost efficiency, pre-financing of new infrastructures, land use planning/management, integration of all transport modes, as well as modelling/simulation tools with a view to speeding-up the planning and building of new capacities; emphasises that these initiatives would serve to complement the SESAR programme and could be supplemented with new institutional tools that will help to increase airport capacity; 9. Requests the Commission to report to Parliament before 2009 on a master plan for enhanced airport capacity in Europe; stresses that such a report should lay down a cohesive approach for Member States in order to promote and coordinate any national and cross-border initiative for building new airport capacities dedicated to international trafficand make better use of existing capacities, as well for managing secondary airport capacity, without prejudice to Member States' and Community competences to allocate airport capacities; stresses that the hubs and the regional airports, through point-to-point journeys, can each in their own way and according to specific constraints of the various Member States respond to the environmental problems, to congestion problems and challenges facing accessibility, and that only the cohabitation of various airport models according to national specificities will enable the EU to fulfil its needs in this field; recalls in this respect that the accessibility to airports is of great importance and that their successful integration in the transport network is an essential condition for co modality. 10. Calls on the Member States and the regional and local authorities to ensure that airports, regardless of their governing bodies, are included in regional spatial development plans or taken into account in regional development strategies; points out that the extension and construction of major infrastructure, such as airports,must be subject to a territorial impact assessment; 11. Supports the Commission in its ambition to increase the internal logistical efficiency of airports but suggests that this should be limited to the tracking of baggage and cargo only; 12. Believes that, in order to increase capacity, pre-financing infrastructure development is a valid option for airports; highlights that this financing scheme benefits both the airlines and the airports by lowering overall financing costs of infrastructure, ensuring a smoother profile of prices for airlines and reducing the risk for airports as airlines begin to repay their investments earlier; 13. Stresses the economic importance of airports for job creation, particularly at regional level; points out that European airport operators, airlines, maintenance