Airport services and airport charging systems: A critical review of the EU common framework

This paper reviews proposals contained in the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) Consultation Paper of 1995 and Draft Directive of 1997 on Airport Charges. Economic and practical problems associated with the CEC proposals are highlighted. The main conclusions are that the CEC proposals will be difficult to enforce because they are vague, implementation is left to the individual member states, and because they allow for a variety of approaches to charging systems which can include substantial cross-subsidisation across aeronautical and non-aeronautical uses at one or more airports. The fact that the Commission will not have significant powers of enforcement further reduces the impact which the proposals can have.