T&E Reponse to the EU Consultation on Airport Capacity, Efficiency and Safety in Europe

Airport capacity is considered to be a bottleneck in the growing aviation industry. About 70% of the 50 largest European airports have already or almost reached capacity constraints forecast for the year 2025. The European Commission therefore encouraged all actors in the aviation sector to rethink airport capacity and its use.

Capacity constraints are considered to be counterproductive to overall economic competitiveness. In North America and Asia, airport expansions and greenfield developments seem to face less political and legal constraints, which can be considered as an obstacle to economic growth in the EU.

With the current consultation paper the Commission will focus on three topics:

• Airports’ relationship with other modes of transport;
• The individual airport;
• The relationship between airports

It is unfortunate that the European Commission has approached the issue of airport capacity in this way without considering first the causes of the current capacity problems – namely subsidies and unfair tax advantages for air travel and air freight.