In the June 2013 edition of Airline Ground Services, we looked at the new EU rules for airport ground handling services currently being negotiated. The proposal on airline ground handling forms one of the three legislative measures comprising the EU’s ‘Better Airports Package’ which, as a whole, is designed to increase capacity at EU airports and improve the quality of services offered to passengers.
Since our last article was written, the new proposals on airport ground handling have been approved (in amended form) by the European Parliament at a first reading, on 16 April 2013. In doing so, the European Parliament also approved the repeal of the existing rules on ground handling, implemented by the 1996 EU Directive 96/97/EC.
As stated in the article published in June, the main elements of the new proposals are as follows:
1. Air carriers will be able to carry out their own ground handling operations.
2. The minimum number of ground handling service providers, other than air carriers, will be increased from two to three at large airports (airports handling more than 15 million passengers or 200,000 tonnes of freight per year).
3. Minimum standards must be set for operational performance at large airports (for example, the maximum waiting time for registration of passengers and baggage claim). In addition, minimum standards must be set in relation to the training of ground handling staff, equipment, information and assistance provided to passengers, safety management systems, security and compliance with environmental requirements.
4. The specific standards are to be set by member states, the airport managing body or the body controlling the airport.
5. Service providers that fail to meet the standards set could incur penalties or be prohibited from providing further services.
6. The airport managing body will be responsible for the proper co-ordination of ground handling activities.
Although the European Parliament approved the new rules on 16 April 2013, they are not yet law within the EU. The proposals now go back to the European Council. At the time of writing (November), the European Council had yet to confirm its position and no date has been set for when the Council will sit for its first reading of the potential new rules. Equally, there is no time limit for the European Council to come to a position.
It is understood that, following the many amendments to the proposals introduced by the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Parliament are now in discussions to try to reach an agreed position. If the European Council approves the proposals, as currently amended by the European Parliament, then the rules will become law and can be enacted by member states. If, however, agreement is not reached between Council and Parliament, amendments must go through a second reading at each body.
The second readings must be concluded within eight months of the Council’s first reading. If agreement is still not reached, representatives of the Parliament, Council and Commission form a Conciliation Committee, which then has six weeks to reach agreement. If that process does not reach a successful conclusion, then the proposals will be dropped.
An update on the debate and on the timing of implementation of the regulations will be provided to AGS once further news on the progress of these proposals is made available.
