European airports urge EU to loosen state aid rules

European airports have called on the EU to loosen state aid rules as the outlook for travel darkens amid a resurgence of coronavirus cases. The demand came as the airports industry warned it saw “no realistic prospect” of an improvement in travel in the coming months and cut its forecast for passenger numbers this year. In a letter to EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager, airport lobby group ACI Europe said its members were facing a “worsening situation” that needed to be “urgently” addressed through a “more effective and flexible” framework for state aid. The letter, which was also signed by the tourism association the European Travel Commission, said: “The root cause of the slump in air traffic and of the financial distress of airports is a direct result of the array of travel restrictions imposed by governments . . . we thus urge the [European] Commission to adopt a more pragmatic and realistic stance on this matter.” Brussels last year relaxed state aid rules to allow member countries to offer companies some support to help them through the pandemic. But ACI Europe said new action was needed as the crisis continues. Among the proposals are the loosening of rules to allow governments to pay direct passenger subsidies to help stimulate demand to reopen routes, airports to be able to recover their fixed costs while travel bans are in place, and the extension of a scheme to allow compensation for revenue losses past this summer. Vestager Tuesday announced that the commission would consult with member states on draft proposals to boost state-aid measures across the economy given the continuing crisis. The commission said it had sent draft proposals to member states to extend the state aid framework until the end of the year and also to increase the ceilings for limited amounts of aid granted, “taking into account the continued economic uncertainty and the needs of businesses affected by the crisis”.<br/>