newstodate.aero
DEC 12, 2003 (newstodate): Meeting in Sharjah for the annual world assembly, members of the Airports Council International have passed a resolution to fight off pressure from airlines to lower charges.
A resolution carves out the stand of ACI, namely that airports should not subordinate the interests of their communities to strategies of failing airlines that would undermine such interests; airports will strongly resist pressures to continue to subsidize failing airlines, instead insisting that airlines pay their own way; and airports call upon senior airline executives to recognize that their companies and airports are mutually dependent, call off the IATA disinformation campaign about airport charges, and come to the table in a new partnership to campaign for the elimination of public policy barriers to healthy industry growth.
-All stakeholders in the air transport industry have been adversely affected by the events of the last several years. It is simplistic for IATA to single out airport user charges as a scapegoat for failed airline business models. These charges have remained a constant percentage of airline costs over the past 20 years. Most business issues between airlines and airports need to be addressed by the parties on an airport-by-airport basis. Further, IATA's calls for more regulations would be completely counter-productive to the interests of the entire air transport industry including airlines, says Robert J. Aaronson, ACI Director General, in his comments to the resolution.
A resolution carves out the stand of ACI, namely that airports should not subordinate the interests of their communities to strategies of failing airlines that would undermine such interests; airports will strongly resist pressures to continue to subsidize failing airlines, instead insisting that airlines pay their own way; and airports call upon senior airline executives to recognize that their companies and airports are mutually dependent, call off the IATA disinformation campaign about airport charges, and come to the table in a new partnership to campaign for the elimination of public policy barriers to healthy industry growth.
-All stakeholders in the air transport industry have been adversely affected by the events of the last several years. It is simplistic for IATA to single out airport user charges as a scapegoat for failed airline business models. These charges have remained a constant percentage of airline costs over the past 20 years. Most business issues between airlines and airports need to be addressed by the parties on an airport-by-airport basis. Further, IATA's calls for more regulations would be completely counter-productive to the interests of the entire air transport industry including airlines, says Robert J. Aaronson, ACI Director General, in his comments to the resolution.