The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) has welcomed the vote in the European Parliament on the second package of Single European Sky (SES II). The vote followed a period of negotiations between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission, which led to the adoption of a compromise draft with a mix of ambitious and conservative measures.
“The initial Single European Sky legislation of 2004 failed to deliver the reform of European ATM, which – with some €5 billion per annum of avoidable cost – is so vitally needed," commented John Hanlon, ELFAA's secretary general. "ELFAA sees SES II as the most vital legislative initiative in the field of aviation in the current parliamentary term, and has strongly supported the more ambitious elements of it proposed by the Commission and the Parliament, including effective performance regulation of Europe’s air navigation service providers.
"While the final text adopted by the Parliament is not as ambitious as airspace users would like it to be, it is an important first step on the way to the overhaul of the ATM system in Europe. ELFAA urges accelerated implementation of the provisions of the regulation, following the upcoming vote in the Council, particularly in the areas of performance regulation and the establishment of meaningful Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs). The long overdue elimination of costly inefficiencies must be progressed with the greatest urgency.”
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