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24.04.2010 17:29
© Mike Knell @flickr.com
(FT) Proponents of a unified European air traffic control system are seizing on the havoc wrought by volcanic ash to push an initiative long favored by Brussels and the airlines but resisted by national governments.
They say disagreement between national regulators led to indecision that kept much of Europe's airways closed for almost six days after the eruption of Eyjafjallajökul, the Icelandic volcano, on April 14 released a vast ash cloud across the Continent.
Helen Kearns, spokeswoman for Siim Kallas, the EU transport commissioner, said a single authority would have been able to resume flights within hours once it was determined that a blanket no-fly zone was unnecessary.
It would not have changed the initial decision to ground flights, but "you could have shifted to a more differentiated model much more quickly," she said, calling the current system a "patchwork".
The International Air Transport Association estimates the crisis cost the world's airlines $1.7bn in lost revenue.
Giovanni Bisignani, head of Iata, said: "It is an embarrassing situation for Europe, which, after decades of discussion, still does not have an effective single European sky.
"I was pushing for this when I was CEO of Alitalia in 1991 and I was told not to worry, it would be done," he told the Financial Times.
One stumbling block is how much control EU members are willing to cede. The 27 states are each responsible for their own airspace, a power they have guarded for security and defense reasons.
Unions representing air traffic control workers fear a unified system would result in job losses.
European policymakers and the airline industry have been pushing for an overhaul of the system for at least a decade, arguing that a more co-ordinated approach was necessary to deal with increased air traffic.
Greater co-ordination would also yield more efficient routes, they said, lowering fuel consumption, cutting costs and reducing carbon emissions.
Member states and the parliament agreed last year on Single European Sky framework legislation that would establish a European network manager to oversee air traffic, beginning in 2012. But the details to implement the plan must still be hashed out.
One issue is whether the network manager's recommendations would be binding or voluntary for air traffic controllers. Ms Kearns called it "critical", noting that Brussels favors a binding approach.
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