European Regions Airline Association

The reform of air traffic management (ATM) is critical to the delivery of the Single European Sky (SES), says Simon McNamara, Director General, ERA.

Increased support and a more proactive role in shaping a level playing field for European Regions Airline Association (ERA*) members are key focuses for the Association's new Director General, Simon McNamara.

The Association of European Airlines (AEA), the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) and the International Air Carrier Association (IACA) today all called on the European Parliament to increase competition in the ground handling market which will benefit operators and increase the quality of services for passengers. The associations strongly urge MEPS to vote in favour of the Ground Handling Regulation in plenary session on the Airport Package, which will take place on 12 December.

The Association of European Airlines (AEA), the European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA), the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) and the International Air Carrier Association (IACA) are united in condemning EU Member States for their reluctance to properly implement Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs), a key ingredient for the successful delivery of Single European Sky II (SES II).

Today, airspace users, reliant upon the European Commission's plans for a fundamental restructuring of Europe's airspace to eliminate inefficient flight routings (thereby reducing both fuel burn and emissions) and to create additional cost-efficient capacity for future growth, are voicing their strong disappointment at the lack of progress on the Single European Sky at a high-level conference in Limassol.

The European Regions Airline Association (ERA) believes that EASA's FTL proposals for a new EU rule aiming to standardise working hours for airline pilots across Europe will not have any meaningful benefit for flight safety.

"EU States struggling to manage current economic constraints are seeing increasing taxation of air passengers and higher user charges as easy ways to raise State revenues, without consideration of the effects that such increased burdens have on air transport and the consequential negative effects on their national economy", said Mike Ambrose, Director General of ERA* at the Association's annual General Assembly held in Dublin in late September. Ambrose also highlighted the European regional aviation industry's concerns over alarming increases in jet fuel in recent years, the need for greater transparency in setting airport charges and the importance of establishing a level playing field across transport modes in Europe.

Aimée Turner and Peter King receive ERA awards

Aimée Turner, Editor, Air Traffic Management, has been awarded the ERA Hank McGonagle Journalism Award 2011/12 for her article Space Odyssey ­- an in-depth analysis of how attempts to manage the forecast boom in air traffic safety, while driving down costs, is encouraging Europe to adopt satellite-based data exchange.