RT.com
14 Jan 2022, 23:42 GMT+10
The European Commission claims EU rules don?t oblige air carriers to fly
EU authorities are urging airlines to stop operating empty flights as they are economically inefficient and bad for the environment, saying that making empty or near-empty trips is a commercial decision for each carrier.
EU rules therefore do not oblige airlines to fly or to keep empty planes in the air. On the contrary, they permit the avoidance of empty flights, according to a senior spokesman for the European Commission, Stefan De Keersmaecker.
"Deciding to operate routes or not is a commercial decision by the airline company and not a result of EU rules," he wrote on Twitter.
The official cited data and forecasts from Eurocontrol, which reported that initial traffic from 2022 was at 77% of pre-pandemic rates.
"In addition to the lower slot use rates, companies may also request a 'justified non-use exception' - to not use a slot - if the route cannot be operated because of sanitary measures, e.g. when new variants emerge during the pandemic," Keersmaecker added.
Last week, Europe's second-biggest carrier Lufthansa confirmed that 18,000 flights had been flown empty due to intense regulatory pressure and despite the economic and environmental consequences. Nearly 3,000 of those journeys were operated by the carrier's subsidiary, Brussels Airlines.
Under the 'use it or lose it' regulations, European airlines are normally forced to operate flights in at least 80% of their scheduled takeoff and landing slots in order to retain the right to use those slots.
The rule was suspended by the EU at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, but reintroduced at the level of 50% last spring. However, in December, the EC said the current 50% threshold would be raised to 64% for this year's April-to-November summer flight season.
Back then, the Belgian federal government referred the matter to the EC, urging it to rethink the rules on securing slots.
For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of New York Statesman news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to New York Statesman.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: With just weeks to spare before a potential government default, U.S. lawmakers passed a sweeping tax and spending...
PARIS, France: Fast-fashion giant Shein has been fined 40 million euros by France's antitrust authority over deceptive discount practices...
PALO ALTO/TEL AVIV: The battle for top AI talent has claimed another high-profile casualty—this time at Safe Superintelligence (SSI),...
FRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...
REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...
LONDON UK - U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Independence Day. Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with Greeback Comeback...
MOSCOW, Russia: This week, Russia became the first country to officially recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan since...
CAIRO, Egypt: This week, both Hamas and Israel shared their views ahead of expected peace talks about a new U.S.-backed ceasefire plan....
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has made public a visa decision that would usually be kept private. It did this to send...
MADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...