Airline Coordination Platform

In order to achieve the CO2 reduction target of the sectors covered by the EU ETS, the Commission intends to address both the reduction of the total number of allowances (cap) and an increase of the auctioning share of allowances (reduced free allocation). It is worth recalling that the intention of the free allowances in aviation was to address competitive disadvantages in relation to third countries.

Aligning air traffic and climate protection is a common goal of society, politics and the aviation industry. The regulatory framework should pursue ambitious and binding targets for CO2 reduction and at the same time ensure that European aviation, including value creation and employment, is not discriminated in international competition.

As the association of the network carriers of the European Union, ACP firmly supports the ambitions laid down in the Fit for 55 package and its objective to become CO2 neutral by 2050. ACP is committed to sensible environmental legislation, a better integration into a European transport network, but most importantly technological investments in solutions that will shape the future of aviation.

The European Network Airlines Association (ENAA) believes that the Air Services Regulation, Regulation (EC) 1008/2008, has served well to further the EU internal market for air services. Its provisions remain fit for purpose until today and a comprehensive review as concluded by the 2019 evaluation of the Regulation is unnecessary.

The Airline Coordination Platform welcomes the proposed new regulation to address distortions caused by foreign subsidies and emphasizes the timeliness of such a regulation, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the EU aviation industry hard and as a result put EU airlines in a vulnerable situation, more exposed to foreign investments.

The Airline Coordination Platform (ACP) welcomes the European Commission’s initiative addressing possi-ble distortions caused by foreign subsidies. When drafting a legislative proposal, the European Commission should ensure that the aviation industry is included in the scope of a future legislative framework on foreign subsidies.

The Airline Coordination Platform (ACP) takes note of the Commission’s plan to revise the Air Services Regulation based on a new impact assessment, which takes into consideration the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry. ACP is fully committed to participate in this process and is ready to provide any relevant information that may be needed for the impact assessment.