For the fifth consecutive year, the Association of European Airlines (AEA) held its annual networking event in the European Parliament yesterday. The event was kindly hosted by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Gesine Meissner (ALDE), Wim van de Camp (EPP), Ismail Ertug (S&D) and Jacqueline Foster (ECR).
Many other MEPs and Parliamentary Assistants, as well as Transport Attachés and CEOs of AEA member airlines joined the discussions. This year, the focus was on the forthcoming Aviation Package, the European Commission’s flagship initiative to boost the competitiveness of the European aviation sector.
AEA’s President Dr. Temel Kotil underlined the importance of European aviation which contributes €452 billion to the European GDP annually and supports 11.7 million jobs associated with air transport. AEA’s CEO Athar Husain Khan presented AEA’s expectations and concrete proposals on how to make European airlines more competitive in the areas of infrastructure, environment, safety, security, cargo, consumers and level playing field. The full report can be downloaded here.
“We are already engaging with the EU decision-makers about these crucial topics before the publication of the Aviation Package”, said AEA’s CEO Athar Husain Khan. “This allows for an exchange of views on the airlines’ prerequisites for a competitive European airline industry.”
24 September 2015
