MEPs voted to approve proposals to establish safety assessments of third country aircraft using EU airports. They voted in favour of four amendments which would extend ramp inspections to all airports open to international air traffic and extending the inspections to all aircraft. Other amendments are designed to provide more information to the public on the number and types of aircraft that had been grounded and the reasons for grounding. Another amendment strengthened the powers of the Commission over that of member States in this area. Council came under fire in this debate from all sides. The rapporteur, Michel Dary, noted that his proposals came at the time of a number of serious air crashes, including the Swiss Air disaster off the Canadian coast. He stressed that there were serious worries about the safety of a number of third country planes which used EU airports.
There were differences with Council on the need to co-ordinate EU-wide action and to propose collective bans on aircraft ignoring internationally recognised safety standards. These proposals had been rejected by Council, which simply put forward a commitment "to consider measures that member states deem necessary".
He was also unhappy that Council had rejected the proposal to disseminate the information on groundings for fear that if the public were to hear of serious safety problems with a particular third country aircraft or operator they might decide to avoid flying with that company. Mr Dary also emphasised the importance of EU-wide collective action to avoid third country operators evading a ban in one member state by landing in a neighbouring member state.
There was broad support from other speakers for Mr Dary's arguments. Niall Andrews (Dublin, UFE) noted that the Association of European Airlines had stated that there was some complacency on air safety among member states' governments, especially the UK government. He noted that 30 per cent of flights were delayed and that the most crowded airspace was over South East England. He was concerned that the new air traffic centre in England was four years behind schedule, and he warned of the frequent near-misses that took place. In the last three years, he concluded, he had not taken a plane that had left or arrived in time.
For the Commission, Neil Kinnock echoed the condolences offered by Mr Andrews to the victims of the Swiss-Air disaster. He welcomed the report and believed that Parliament's four amendments represented an acceptable base for compromise with Council. He recognised the legitimate interests of the public in obtaining information and could accept the four amendments subject to minor rewording.