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 EASA addresses its money woesEASA has set about digging itself out of its financial hole, with the backing of the Board of Management and the national aviation authorities. The Management Board meeting on 16 March accepted a report from outside consultants who said EASA’s income from fees and charges was currently too low, and that the administrative burden of the fees and charges regulation is too high. There is to be a full revision of fees and charges, with a new scale of prices to take effect from early 2007 following consultation with industry. There will also be a number of price increases in the coming months. Sources at EASA say they are pleased that the Board has accepted what they themselves have been saying for many months. In addition, the European Commission has offered its full support to the Agency, including – according to EASA – the possibility of financial support. Details of the regulatory changes and further support will be defined at the next meeting of the Management Board on April 26th. |
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| Power play An indication of the mountain EASA has to climb to gain acceptance across Europe has come from the UK, where a leading politician has used the Agency to illustrate her claim that the EU is behaving more and more like the Austro-Hungarian empire. Gwyneth Dunwoody MP has posed the question in a lecture as to whether EASA is simply there because the EU wants to ‘increase its competency’. Her comments matter because Ms Dunwoody is chairman of the Parliamentary Transport Select Committee, which is currently examining the work of the UK Civil Aviation Authority. The remarks show a high degree of acceptance of the CAA’s position, which critics argue is underpinned by a desire to maintain a power base as much as from concern for safety. In a speech at the Royal Aeronautical Society Ms Dunwoody said EASA did not have the staff or the money to do its job, and described it as: “an excellent example of the confusion Europe sows because it has the potential to compromise safety.” She said the risk was that “the high standards of aviation safety on which the CAA has built its reputation will be diluted in order to meet the average of all European National Supervisory Authorities.” The notion of the UK CAA as being ‘super-safe’ has been sedulously fostered among British politicians, although new figures on GA safety from the Unites States put the claim in perspective. US GA experienced a historic low in accidents during 2004, with accidents down by 6.7 percent and fatal accidents down by 7.1 percent. General aviation safety in the UK has historically been similar to that of the US but is now believed to be worse despite – or partly because of – the CAA’s costly “heavy touch” regulation. Politicians in other countries are echoing Ms Dunwoody’s position, with the Dutch and the Danes also expressing concerns over EASA. The French and the Germans have stated that EASA will not lead to a single job loss in their national authorities. |
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| What about GA? AOPA-Sweden has written to the European Commission to point out a glaring omission in the EC’s White Paper on the European Transport Policy for 2010 – a complete absence of any mention of general aviation. In a letter to Matthias Ruete, director general of DG TREN, the EC’s transport directorate, AOPA-Sweden’s Torgny Bramberg says that general aviation should be a vital component of any transport policy and contrasts Europe’s approach with that of America, where the government-backed Small Aircraft Transport System aims to promote all facets of general aviation from manufacturing to end-use. “The lack of corresponding initiatives in Europe will allow the US industry to continue to set world standards in GA for a long time to come,” the letter says. General aviation is an important mode of personal travel and could be used more for the transport of high value goods, Mr Bramberg adds, while pointing out that Europe should take action to preserve airfields as an economic asset to local communities. “GA is business – airlines are for pleasure,” Mr Bramberg says. “This is little known outside the industry and may have contributed to the ‘big jet bias’ from regulators.” Fuel tax anomalies should be removed as a matter of principle, and Europe should establish benchmarking procedures to improve the quality and efficiency of regulation. The full text of the letter can be downloaded from the IAOPA-Europe website. Click on http://www.iaopa-eur.org/mediaServlet/SE_vs_EC.pdf |
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| DFS airfield data The German DFS has made a very useful publication, the Airfield Guide Europe, available for download from its website. The Airfield Guide Europe provides visual operation charts for airfields in Germany and elsewhere, and the DFS says: “Irrespective of whether you are a pilot in Belgium looking for VFR charts of Austria or a Polish pilot wanting to fly in Denmark, the most important part of your preparation is having access to the charts and all flight-relevant information in a quick and easy manner.” The online editions are offered at the following prices: Package (currently 10 countries) €99. Germany, Denmark, Poland €29 each. Austria, Belgium/Luxembourg, Norway, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic €19 each. Slovenia €14. Channel Islands €9. All prices include VAT. For further information, go to www.dfs.de, select the English version if necessary, click on ‘products’ then ‘aviation shop’. |
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| Help IAOPA – and win Jeppesen prizes Help IAOPA-Europe to better represent your interests by registering as a user on the www.iaopa-eur.org website and filling in a short questionnaire about your flying habits. All users who fill in the questionnaire before May 15th will be included in a draw for valuable products from Jeppesen. The top prize is FliteStar IFR/VFR flight planning software, while there will be two runners-up prizes of TechStar Flight Computers and three prizes of Jeppesen Softside Flightbags. Prizes are restricted to AOPA members. The information you provide will be kept strictly confidential. IAOPA will use the information as part of its statistical database, which helps us strengthen our position when negotiation with EASA, the JAA, Eurocontrol and national aviation authorities. Click through to www.iaopa-eur.org to participate. |
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| GA in China The first General Aviation Exposition to be arranged by the government of China takes place in May in the city of Binzhou in Shangdong province, and the organisers are hoping for visitors and exhibitors from Europe. The Exposition, from May 28th to 30th, is a manifestation of China’s desire that general aviation should grow at a pace that matches the country’s economic expansion. GA was unknown in China just a few years ago, but the organisers – the Chinese government, CAA, ministry of Agriculture and trade promotion bodies – see a future in which GA is everywhere. Their invitation to Binzhou says: “There will be huge demand for general aviation in such fields as agriculture, forestry, commerce and trade, mineral and geological exploration, environmental protection, medical treatment, sport, meteorology, industry, aviation photography, trusteeship of airplanes (sic) official business, news collection, traffic control etc. “The fast development of China’s national economy has initiated huge demand for general aviation business, and there is huge growth potential.” The government hopes to partner Chinese and foreign companies at the exposition to exploit the potential of Chinese general aviation. For more details, contact David Tang on david@davidtang.co.uk |
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| Scandinavian fly-in AOPA-Norway is arranging a fly-in at Mariehamn on the Finish island of Aaland in the Baltic Sea between Friday 26th and Sunday 28th May. An interesting programme of social and professional events is scheduled, including a presentation on the work and role of IAOPA-Europe from Martin Robinson, chief executive of AOPA-UK and deputy vice president of IAOPA-Europe. The fly-in is open to everyone, and AOPA-Norway is hoping in particular to meet pilots from other Scandinavian countries, whether AOPA members or not. For more information contact AOPA-Norway’s Per Holter-Sorensen on per.h.sorensen@aopa.no |
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| Channel Islands rallies There are two air rallies in the Channel Islands this year, and both offer a fantastic welcome to the international visitor. The Jersey International Air Rally – one of the oldest air rallies still operating in Europe – takes place from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th May, 2006. Guest of honour will be Charles Strasser OBE, chairman of AOPA’s Channel Islands Region, who is well-known to AOPA members across Europe and who first flew into the Jersey Rally as long ago as 1957! For details, see www.jerseyaeroclub.com. Guernsey Aero Club International Air Rally will be held from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th September, and like its counterpart in Jersey it is famous for the hospitality it extends to visiting aircraft and pilots. See www.guernseyaeroclub.com. The Channel Islands, a semi-autonomous region of England, are renowned for being aviation-friendly and offering cheap avgas! |
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If you have any comments on this newsletter or would like to have information from your country included in it, please email iaopa@richmondaviation.co.uk If this newsletter is not displaying properly in your e-mail program, please click here to view it in a web browser. |
