04/06/06 - Salzburg

The European Regions Airline Association (ERA) has recommended the creation of a centralised and independent European Transportation Safety Board (ETSB) to replace state investigation bodies in an effort to harmonise European accident investigation procedures. The recommendation was made at this week’s European Aviation Summit in Salzburg, by Antonis Simigdalas, President of ERA and COO of Aegean Airlines and Mike Ambrose, Director General, ERA.

 

“The ETSB should start with aviation as the most safety-advanced mode of transport, and should be based on the use of best practice, skills and experience rather than the normal EU principles of a job for every state,” declared Ambrose.

 

In a speech which highlighted increased European harmonization as the key to improved efficiency, ERA also proposed the establishment of an EU Aircraft Register, replacing current national registers. Simigdalas explained: “If I want to purchase an aircraft currently registered in another European country, I have to pay to re-register the aircraft in my own country. I am effectively paying to have the same checks made twice!”

 

Ambrose comments: “Air transport is a global industry but so many of its procedures are nationalised. This creates inefficiencies at all levels: operational, environmental and of course, financial. European harmonization should be at the heart of all regulatory thinking with regard to industries such as intra-European air transport.”

 

 

ENDS