Aviation Archives

E-mail exchanges between the European Commission and Airbus show how the European aircraft manufacturer was offered privileged access to the EU decision-making process, allowing it to write its own environmental rules, writes Andrew Murphy.

It is essential that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Europe retain the power to have the final say on regulating aircraft and the ability, with parliamentary oversight, to adjust future European regulations as needed to changing circumstances, writes Bill Hemmings.

EU lawmakers and member states agreed on Wednesday (18 October) a measure to guard the carbon market in case of a breakdown in Brexit talks as well as extending the exemption of international flights from the bloc's charges for carbon emissions until the end of 2023.

The European Commission’s proposal to incentivise the production of biofuels for aircraft with a 20% “multiplier” goes in the right direction, says Thierry Nowaczyk from Airbus. The question is whether this is enough to fill the price gap with fossil-based kerosene, he told EURACTIV.com in an interview.

Plans to rapidly scale up the use of biofuels in air transport inevitably mean increasing reliance on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), most of which currently contain palm oil, the worst polluting biofuel, warns Almuth Ernsting.

A less naive, more reactive, Europe must have a vision for the future of the aviation sector, taking into account the interests of all: aircraft manufacturers, airport platforms and airlines, writes Franck Proust.

Ryanair said yesterday (18 September) a mass cancellation of flights was set to cost the Irish no-frills airline €25 million, as it bowed to customer anger by publishing a full list of journeys axed.

The European Parliament approved on Wednesday (11 September) a plan to keep commercial flights in and out of Europe exempt from the EU's carbon emission controls until 2021, in a move likely to be welcomed by the aviation industry.

Unless Brexit negotiators reach a transitional deal by September next year, both the UK and the EU face a "cliff edge" scenario with serious disruptions in air, railway and maritime traffic, industry sources have told EURACTIV.com.

The European Commission's proposal to continue exempting flights to and from Europe from its flagship emissions trading scheme (ETS) was an overreaction, writes Andrew Murphy.

The EU has failed to make airports competitive and fair for travellers. It needs reform, writes Thomas Reynaert.

An EU data sharing agreement with Canada is illegal because it violates privacy rights, the European Court of Justice said Wednesday (26 July), marking a new legal blow to the bloc's data deals.

The European Union and Britain plan to put forward a joint proposal for reform of the terms of their World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership in September or October, an EU source said on Monday (17 July), as London negotiates to leave the EU.

The European Commission does not intend to limit alcohol consumption during flights as it is a national competence, despite the fact that officials from popular tourist destinations requested its intervention.

Authorities in the Balearic Islands, home to the party resorts of Ibiza and Magaluf, on Wednesday (12 July) asked Spain and the European Union to ban alcohol on flights and in airports as they battle "anti-social tourism".

International flights to and from the EU will remain free from paying CO2 emissions permits but the exemption will cease in 2021 unless EU bodies meanwhile decide otherwise, the European Parliament's environment committee agreed on Tuesday (11 July).

Austria wants to end its Eurofighter jet programme early and replace it with a cheaper alternative fleet of aircraft leased from another government, its defence minister said on Friday (7 July), amid a legal battle over the jets with Airbus.

The EU's air traffic management body unveiled on Friday (16 June) a proposal for regulating the use of unmanned aircraft (drones) in low-level airspace from 2019, saying it should help create "a strong and dynamic EU drone services market".

The European Commission adopted a package of regulations on Thursday (8 June) which will provide EU airlines with a simpler, more efficient way to file complaints concerning state subsidies and other unfair competition measures against third countries and their operators.

The European Commission remains unsatisfied with Italy’s responses to questions about the independence of the country’s civil aviation authority (ENAC) and charges levied at the country's largest airports. EURACTIV’s partner Milano Finanza reports.

The United States might ban laptops from aircraft cabins on all flights into and out of the country as part of a ramped-up effort to protect against potential security threats, US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said yesterday (28 May).

US and EU officials meet in Washington this week for further talks on aviation security, as the European Union braces for an extension of a cabin ban on large electronic devices to US-bound flights from Europe.

Top US and EU officials traded intelligence Wednesday (17 May) on what they called "serious evolving threats" to airline security as Washington mulls banning carry-on computers on flights from Europe.

The European Commission announced today (17 May) a review of state aid rules that will allow member states to pour millions of euros of support into struggling regional airports without prior approval from Brussels.