冰岛火山灰致欧盟航空损失25亿

Volcanic ash crisis cost airlines €2.5 billion

欧盟近日公布的数据显示，冰岛火山灰对欧盟航空业造成的经济损失大约在15到25亿欧元之间，受火山灰影响而采取的欧洲航空管制导致十万个航班被取消，1000万人滞留。欧盟交通事务署官员呼吁进行全面的航空交通管理改革，并对受影响的航空公司进行短期援助，以帮助航空公司缓解资金压力。不过，欧盟将统一各国对航空公司进行短期援助的标准，补偿的前提是不能损害公平竞争的原则，且向航空公司提供的贷款将以现行市场利率为准。据悉，欧盟将会在5乐4日召集各成员国的交通部长举行紧急会议，商讨对欧盟各国航空业分片管理的现状进行全面改革，拟成立一个统一的航空管理机构。

The Icelandic volcano ash crisis has cost the airlines €2.5 billion, according to the European Union's executive body.

Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said the economic impact of the weeklong crisis had caused losses of estimated at between €1.5-2.5 billion.

The closure of a large chunk of European airspace due to the volcanic eruption in southern Iceland caused the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights, and left 10 million passengers stranded.

Mr Kallas has called for a sweeping reform of air traffic control and short-term relief like lifting bans on night time flights, to help airlines cope with the losses.

He said the European Commission, which he briefed on the problems, was asking member nations to provide airlines immediate relief with measures such as making market-rate loans and deferring payments for air traffic control services.

Lifting restrictions on night-time flights meant to maintain quiet in neighbourhoods around airports would help airlines repatriate stranded passengers and get delayed freight deliveries to their destinations, he said.

However, Kallas warned EU member states not to grant airlines state aid other than loans at market rates or guarantees as a way of improving their immediate cash flow problems.

"This must be granted on the basis of uniform criteria established at the European level," he said. "It cannot be used to allow unfair assistance to companies which is not directly related to the crisis."

Mr Kallas has called an emergency meeting of EU transport ministers May 4 to fast-track the wholesale reform of Europe's fragmented air traffic system.

"Europe needs a single regulator for a single European sky," he said, adding that the first elements of the so-called Single European Sky could be in place by the end of 2010.

Unified airspace would also put the skies under one regulatory body instead of leaving decisions to dozens of individual countries – one of the key sources of confusion in the volcanic ash crisis.