Brussels, Siim Kallas,
European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for transport,
today announced the member states support for the Commission's proposal on
the revision of current EU rules on ground handling services.
Vice-President Kallas said: "Airports are
facing a capacity crunch and three out of four flight delays are caused
by problems on the ground, not in the air. There is an urgent need to
improve the quality and efficiency of ground handling services. The
agreement today strikes the right balance between giving airlines more
choice of quality service providers while strengthening protection for
workers in what is a very labor-intensive sector."
The agreement with ministers safeguards the two key elements at the heart of the Commission's ground handling proposals:
1. Airlines
need more choice in who provides their services on the ground – that
means at least three providers at every major airport.
Ensuring full opening
of the self-handling market for airlines and increase in the minimum
number of service providers (in restricted services) from two to three
at large airports: this will ensure that airlines have an increased
choice of ground-handling solutions at EU airports.
2. High-quality services rely on a
high-quality workforce – that means reinforcing stable employment terms
for those working on the ground.
Allowing Member States
to go further in protecting workers' rights so staff can transfer under
existing conditions when a contract goes to a new provider: this is
essential to provide the stable employment conditions necessary to
maintain a high-quality workforce in what is a labor-intensive sector.
The Commission's ground handling proposals
A comfortable, safe and reliable flight
requires a whole range of ground services such as cabin cleaning, refueling, de-icing in wintertime and baggage handling.
The Commission's
proposals aim to ensure airlines have a greater choice of ground handling
solutions, give airports more control over the coordination of
ground handling services, and clarify the rules on the training and
transfer of ground handling staff.
To achieve these goals, the
Commission adopted on 1 December 2011 a proposal for a regulation on
ground handling services at EU airports, in the context of the "Better
airports package", together with proposals on airport slots and noise
restrictions at airports. On ground handling, the Commission proposed to repeal Directive 96/67/EC and to replace it by a new regulation.
Ground handling covers a wide variety of
services for airlines delivered at airports to support the airline's
operations. It includes not only technical services such as aircraft
maintenance, fuel and oil services and freight handling, but also
services which are essential to passenger safety and comfort, such as
passenger check-in, catering, baggage handling and surface transport at
the airport
Next steps
The proposal must still be voted by the
European Parliament in first reading. The proposed regulation on
ground handling services is the first of three legislative proposals of
the "Better airports package". Further to
today's discussion on ground handling, the Commission expects the Council
to work on the noise and slot regulations, with the Presidency
indicating that it will start with noise as early as next week in the
working group
Source: European Commission
