The package has been toned down from what the commissioner originally had in mind, in view of winning support from both airline and airport operators.
Barrot renounced plans to impose some kind of limit on airport charges – which airlines complain have become exorbitant, especially in larger, much-demanded airports such as Charles de Gaulle in Paris and London's Heathrow, pushing up ticket prices. However, airports say that these charges are a necessary source of revenue to finance infrastructure improvements, tighten security and accommodate rising passenger numbers and growing air traffic.
The proposed Directive instead demands that airports set their prices in a transparent manner and prohibits them from discriminating between airlines. Hitherto, airports had often given cheap flight companies discounts because of the huge amounts of passengers they attract. But, under the new rules, prices should only vary if the service varies.
Member states will also be required to establish an independent national regulator that will have the power to impose settlements in cases where airlines and airports fail to agree on charges.
Barrot also presented a five-point action plan on tackling congestion at European airports. "This problem will become more and more crucial," said Barrot, pointing to the expected doubling in air-traffic volumes over the next 20 years.
He sees optimising existing capacity as the best solution, through improved slot allocation and more efficient flight plans. The commissioner also suggests transferring travellers from saturated airports to smaller regional ones or to airports in other countries via other transport modes.
Plans to open up ground-handling services to further competition were also delayed, notably because a similar proposal to liberalise port services attracted huge protests last year. "We did not want the same kind of demonstrations and strikes," the commissioner had said previously. He added that ground-handling services had already become more competitive, following a first round of liberalisation.
