COMPENSATION:EU GOVERNMENTS are resisting claims for state aid to the aviation sector following the volcanic ash crisis last month.
Their reluctance to provide special financial support to airlines emerged as EU transport ministers agreed to deepen the co-ordination of flights in European airspace in an effort to avoid a repeat of the paralysis.
European transport commissioner Siim Kallas last week opened the door for the release of state aid by saying the EU executive would favourably examine support measures for airlines hit by the shutdown.
However diplomatic sources say transport ministers expressed no great appetite for the release of financial aid when they met in Brussels to discuss how they might prevent a repeat of the shutdown.
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, who says the Government cannot afford to support airlines, was unable to travel to the meeting because Irish airspace was closed again yesterday due to ash from the Eyjafjallajökul eruption in Iceland.
“There’s no member state saying they’re about to give state aid,” said a diplomatic source. “There was a lot of talk about maintaining a level playing field and not distorting markets.”
The source said this can be interpreted as a sign of resistance to special aid, particularly given tight fiscal constraints on numerous EU governments.
The fact that ministers did not seek to dilute the strict legal guidelines which govern state aid was a further indication that governments are reluctant to take such steps, the source said.
Mr Kallas told reporters yesterday that there would be “no sack of money” for airlines hit by the disruption and said his assessment that aviation companies incurred losses of €1.5 billion to €2.5 billion was based on unaudited figures from industry organisations.
New safety standards adopted before flights were resumed remain in place. Mr Kallas suggested the shutdown would continue to this day if the rules had not been changed.
“I can clearly say that we could close again a very large part of European airspace,” he said.
The new safety measures adopted by the ministers include the creation of a “crisis co-ordination cell” – managed by the European Commission – which would take charge of the situation in the event of a future eruption.
While aviation body Eurocontrol would be given new powers before the end of this year to act as “European network manager”, Mr Kallas said ultimate control over national airspace would remain with national authorities.
The ministers also called for the development of a new European methodology and approach to safety risk assessment and risk management.
They also called for the establishment of binding limits at EU level on tolerance levels for engines and aircraft to volcanic ash. The measures go some of the way towards the creation of “single European sky”, which would hand control over all European airspace to a central authority.
Spanish minister José Blanco Lopez, who chaired the meeting, rejected the suggestion that the cancellation of tens of thousands of flights was an over-reaction. “I can’t accept your comment there was an excessive caution shown.”