EU - Transport Policy

Written evidence from Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL) (EU 24)

Transport Committee & EU Transport Policy: Submission from Gatwick Airport Limited ("GAL")

GAL welcomes the opportunity to provide suggestions on issues that might be raised by committee

members during their planned visit to Brussels in February 2011. The 2011 Commission Work Plan

states that a new airports ‘package’ will be developed over the course of the year, with proposals

due to be published in September 2011. This package will include a range of binding Directives

that will fundamentally shape the way in which ‘slots’ or times to aircraft for take-off and land are

allocated, the overall efficiency of airport operations, and the way in which airports seek to

measure and mitigate the impact of airport-related noise on local communities. Its contents are

therefore critical to the future efficient operation of Gatwick and the provision of an improved

passenger experience.

Facilitating an improved passenger experience

Gatwick is constantly striving to improve the passenger experience. To do so, we need to have

influence over as many elements of that experience as possible, including baggage reclaim. This

service is currently provided by ‘handling agents’ who are independent of both airline and airport.

The Ground Handling Directive [1] stops operators from managing the number of these agents, and

through that the overall efficiency of a particular handling activity. In this way, we are actively

prevented for taking steps to improve a critical element of the passenger journey.

Key Question: How will the Commission seek to revise the airport ground-handling

regulation to allow airports to provide the best possible passenger experience?

Making the most of existing airport capacity

Airport ‘slots’, or time periods for aircraft to take off and land, are allocated by a slot administrator

according to binding EU regulations [2] . They do not facilitate the use of market mechanisms, such as

auctions in the allocation of slots, and only allow a ‘grey market’ in the secondary trading of them.

There is no clear and transparent mechanism for an airline to transfer a slot to another. As a

result, some slots are used inefficiently or left unused. Capacity at airports, including Gatwick, is

being used inefficiently. There is also no scope in current regulations for punitive measures to be

applied toward airlines that delay the handing back of slots beyond an acceptable timeframe, which

worsens the problem.

Key Questions: How will the Commission promote efficient use of take-off and landing slots

at airports? Will they fully introduce market mechanisms in order to promote efficiency?

Managing airport-related Noise

All airport’s plans for reducing noise impacts on local communities must be based on the

Environmental Noise Directive (END). There is significant ambiguity around what those

requirements actually are. Member states use 25 different methods for estimating how much noise

airports actually generate. END also does not mandate a specific approach to actually mapping

how noise might affect specific areas. Member States produce maps according to differing criteria.

Key Questions: How will the Commission seek to further harmonise methodologies for

measuring and mapping airport related noise across all Member States?

January 2011