The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced its full support for Spain’s transport minister Jose Blanco and Vice President of the European Commission Siim Kallas in their call to fast track implementation of the Single European Sky. The issue is set to be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of Europe’s Transport Council on 4 May 2010.
IATA’s Director General and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani made the following statement:
“I applaud the leadership of Minister Blanco and Vice President Kallas to urgently fast track implementation of the Single European Sky. The volcanic ash crisis that paralyzed European air transport for nearly a week made it crystal clear that the Single European Sky is a critical missing link in Europe’s infrastructure.
We have been discussing the Single European Sky for decades. It was a priority of the European Commission as far back as the early 1990’s when I was Chairman of the Association of European Airlines. The technical plans are in place. The 4 May meeting must back up the technical preparations with an implementation time line for a fully integrated Single European Sky and the political will to achieve it.
The Single European Sky is much broader than a crisis management mechanism. It will improve Europe’s competitiveness and environmental performance. The inefficiency of the current system is a EUR 5 billion burden on Europe’s economy and wastes 16 million tonnes of CO2 in delays and indirect routings.”
