Specialist Press Release (EP/SP11/2005) - November 17th, 2005

SUMMARY

The European Parliament has given the go ahead to an EU-wide blacklist of airlines that do not meet safety requirements. Airlines on the list will be subject to an operating ban throughout the EU. Passenger rights are also to be strengthened by ensuring they are told the identity of their operating carrier and through compensation should the carrier be included on the blacklist after a reservation has been made.

Amendments to the original European Commission proposal were adopted overwhelmingly by MEPs. Informal negotiations between the Parliament and the Council of Ministers led to agreement on the amendments adopted this week so the directive should be adopted at 1st reading.

The rules on drawing up a blacklist will come into effect 20 days after the directive is published in the EU's Official Journal (probably early 2006); the passenger rights provisions will enter into force 6 months after publication. Among the main points of the new rules adopted this week:

• Each EU Member State will inform the European Commission of any air carriers subject to an operating ban on their territory;

• The list drawn up by the European Commission will appear on the Internet and in the EU's Official Journal;

• The national civil aviation authorities, the European Aviation Safety Agency and individual airports should bring the list to the attention of passengers via their websites and, if possible, on their premises;

• On passenger rights: passengers should be told the identity of the air carrier(s) by the body selling them a ticket, whatever method is used for issuing the ticket;

• Passengers will have the right to re-imbursement or re-routing if the air carrier is put on the blacklist after the reservation has been made and the flight is cancelled.
  

CONTACT

Simon Duffin, Press Officer, European Parliament UK Office, tel 020 7227 4300, email: simon.duffin@europarl.europa.eu

DEBATE

Excerpts from Tuesday's debate (15 November 2005) in Strasbourg:

Derek Twigg MP, UK Minister for Transport, speaking in capacity as President of the Council: The Council attaches the highest priority to aviation safety. It shares your determination that initiatives should continue to be taken to ensure that aircraft carrying Europe’s citizens around the world are safe. We were all shocked by the number of air accidents that occurred in August and September this year, in which too many of our citizens lost their lives.

In light of those events, Parliament seized the opportunity to amend the proposal from the Commission. You proposed amendments aimed at strengthening the scope for Community-wide action on the safety of airlines. Although the Council had agreed a general approach in April on the principle of information sharing, ministers expressed support for this new objective at the Transport Council on 6 October...

It is a measure of the importance that we all attach to those objectives that Parliament, Council and the Commission have worked so constructively together to prepare the text.

Alyn Smith MEP (SNP, Scotland): Mr President, it is fitting, at this time of reflection on what the European Union actually stands for, that we should be discussing tonight this clear demonstration of EU added value, where the Union together is greater than the sum of its parts.

The Member States acting alone have not achieved a sufficient degree of consumer protection. The Union, acting now, will give its citizens the consumer protection they deserve. This EU action is both proportionate and appropriate. If an airline has been blacklisted in one EU state, people want to know about it, so I welcome proposals for a common EU framework. I myself have been booked on flights where I have only discovered the identity of the carrier at check-in, so I welcome proposals for greater consumer information and awareness.

Robert Evans MEP (Labour, London): It shows the strength of the EU acting together, acting to protect the consumer and, as has been emphasised by several people, acting with speed. Sometimes, however, there will still be differences between Member States. Airlines use different aircraft and different crews to fly to particular parts of the world. These variations will mean that standards vary. Indeed, opinion as to safety itself can vary, but this report sets benchmark standards.

More and more people are flying. I am told that some 30 million people in the UK – half the population – fly at least once a year. With the increasing use of the internet, they may not be aware of the carrier that they are allocated. They may book with company A and find that it is actually company B operating the flight. If company B is blacklisted for safety reasons, then... they will have the possibility of not flying. No one at all, I suggest, will board a plane if it has been blacklisted. They will have the option and they will not take the option of getting on a plane that has been blacklisted.

LINKS

This page is part of a frameset - click here to reload the index page of the frameset or here for the homepage of the website.