Airports should not have carte blanche to raise their fees as compensation for lower profits from duty free, the Association of European Airlines (AEA) has said. The association listed Copenhagen, Dublin and airports administered by the British Airports Authority as having suggested they will raise charges "in compensation for the loss of profits from the abolition of intra-EU duty free".
The AEA said it recognised the abolition of duty free within the European Union could have "a substantial impact on some parts of the travel trade", particularly ferries, but argued that duty free "is only one of many substantial retail activities at airports". "Dynamic airport managements should have no problems in attracting blue chip retailers onto their premises, drawn by the blue-chip customers which we, the airlines, deliver to them," said the secretary general of the association, Mr Karl Heinz Neumeister. "The airports have had since 1991 to come to terms with this change, yet their only response was to threaten to load the entire burden onto their airline customers," he added.
Meanwhile, Ryanair's commercial director, Mr Michael Cawley, has restated the airline's dissatisfaction with Aer Rianta's landing charges. He said none of the airline's "new low-fare routes to Europe this year" would operate out of Ireland "due to the ongoing monopoly of Aer Rianta at Dublin Airport, which proposes to double airport charges and force up air fares".
Mr Cawley said the airline was also concerned about reports of a tax on tourists. "Why should passengers be expected to pay a further £3 so that the State can subsidise the industry's marketing expenditure? The Minister for Tourism should be examining ways of reducing access costs, and keeping Ireland a low-cost destination, not designing new ways of taxing visitors."
Meanwhile, British Midland yesterday announced its "biggest ever European-wide seat sale", which will run for 14 days from 9 a.m. on January 14th. Sale prices will include £89 flights to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Brussels. Airline of the Year: page 20
