16 November 2021: The Thessaloniki Forum convened on 16 November to discuss the two draft papers on Airport charges during the COVID crisis and Independent Supervisory Authorities (ISA) powers and concessions.

ISAs had a plenary meeting on 21 October 2021 where the draft papers on Airport charges during a crisis and Concession agreements and ISAs supervisory powers were officially presented for the first time to the Forum.

These papers had been shared the preceding week with airports and airlines associations and discussed during the Thessaloniki Forum on 16 November.

Overall, the airlines associations welcomed the two papers and felt their views had been taken on board even though some aspects could still be challenged.

On the issue of airport charges in times of crisis, the airlines representatives stressed that :

• The possibility to recover crisis related extra costs or government-imposed measures should not become an automatism – it is critical that imposed or mandatory costs cannot simply be passed over.
•  We agree to provide regulators with more flexibility, for instance creating a toolbox from which to apply measures.
• To empower ISA’s to decide on flexible allocation of depreciation costs is a logical consequence when infrastructure is not utilized.

During the discussion on ISA’s powers and concessions, the airlines associations emphasized that :

• Around 40 per cent of ACD airports are under a concession agreement
• To implement effective economic regulation – regulatory bodies need to have the ability to monitor or intervene in many aspects of an airport operator’s finances, investments and operations
• The litmus test is whether the economic regulation of the airport (including the calculation of costs and charges) changes because of the concession agreement. If so – then the requirements of the Directive are not met.
• Concession agreements per se are not a problem but can be if certain provisions limit the ability of ISAs to exercise their duties and limit users to exercise their rights
• A future airport regulation needs to ensure that ISAs powers are above concession agreements.

We still can submit further written comments to the Commission on these two important topics.

The next Thessaloniki Forum Plenary meeting of 2022 will take place on Thursday 27 January.