Airport News - Europe.

Oct 9, 2006

Russia will increase air traffic control fees to foreign carriers next year, the head of the Federal Air Navigation Service told Russian media yesterday. "We would like to establish fair tariffs," Alexander Neradko said, adding that the body has yet to consult with IATA. "We are not expecting the prices for tickets to go up more than RUB60-70 ($2.20-$2.60)," he said, adding that domestic carriers face a 90% increase in charges effective Nov. 1 that also will not have a significant effect on ticket prices. He told reporters that a 747 currently is charged $87 per 100 km. compared to the UK's $229, Belarus's $143 and Ukraine's $142. Oct 5, 2006

EU Restricts Amount Of Carry-On Liquids. The European Commission on Thursday backed new aviation security rules that will restrict the amount of liquids passengers can take on board planes. The rules, expected to come into force in early November, allow passengers to carry on toiletry items such as toothpaste, contact lens solution and perfume but not large drink containers, except those purchased after security checks. Size limits for carry-on bags will enter into force in six months. The rules were proposed last week by experts from EU member states to unify security measures across the 25 nation bloc. Authorities in London said in August they had foiled a plot to bomb flights to the United States using liquid explosives. Passengers will be allowed to bring on board one re-sealable plastic bag of a maximum size of 1 litre in which liquid items could be stored. Liquids would have to fit into containers that were 100 ml or smaller. Certain exceptions will apply for medicines, baby food and other dietary needs, the Commission said. Carry-on bags will be limited to 56 cm by 45 cm by 25 cm. Exemptions on the size of hand luggage will be possible for items such as musical instruments and cameras. Oct 5, 2006

Old Equipment, Disorder Plague Russia ATC. Antique equipment, administrative mess and discord among civilian and military services threaten flight safety, Russia's chief air traffic controller said on Tuesday presenting a plan to reform the ailing sector. Drawing a grim picture of its current state, the head of the state air navigation service Alexander Neradko cited an example of a computer which manages a huge air zone around Moscow in the regional traffic control center. Oct 4, 2006

Hand baggage restrictions imposed by the UK Department for Transport after an alleged terrorist plot have been relaxed. Passengers will still only be allowed one piece of luggage in theory but handbags will be treated separately, an anomaly. The maximum size permitted has been increased to that of a small roller-suitcase 56cm x 45cm x 25cm (22in x 17.75in x 9.85in approx.). A more enlightened view will be taken of musical instruments and other valuable items. Laptops and other large electrical items (e.g. a large hairdryer) will still have to be removed from cabin baggage and screened separately. Restrictions remain in force regarding liquids except those essential for the flight (e.g. diabetic kit), as long as it is verified as authentic. Medicines in solid form continue to be permitted. Baby milk and liquid baby food are OK but the contents of each bottle or jar must be tasted by the accompanying passenger. However the definition of liquids includes gels, pastes, lotions, liquid/solid mixtures and the contents of pressurized containers, e.g. toothpaste, hair gel, drinks, soups, syrups, perfume, deodorant, shaving foam, aerosols, etc. Most of these items you can purchase once airside. Passengers boarding flights to the USA and items they are carrying, including those acquired after the central screening point, will be subjected to secondary search at the gate. No liquids allowed. http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_about_612280.hcsp Oct 2, 2006

Alpha Airports

Alpha Airports H1 Profit Increases. Alpha Airports Group posted a 34 percent rise in first-half pre-tax profit on Thursday and said it had signed a 10 year extension to its contract with Manchester Airport. Oct 2, 2006

Amsterdam Airport

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol confirmed it will not increase airline and passenger charges effective April 1 "in order to strengthen its competitive position in respect to the other European airports." However, it intends to introduce changes to takeoff and landing charges to further discourage the noisiest "marginally compliant aircraft" from using the airport. These will come into force on Nov. 1, 2007, at the earliest. Schiphol Group expressed "regret" that the City of Amsterdam, which holds 21.8% of the company, last week blocked privatization of the group. The city voted against an amendment to the Articles of Association that would have enabled a share listing to occur. "Since Schiphol Group's main competitors are listed companies, they have a competitive advantage by virtue of their ownership structure," the airport operator said. "The absence of a level playing field will weaken Schiphol Group's competitive position. By becoming a publicly listed company, possible acquisitions can be (partially) financed by shares and alliances can be entered into more easily by exchanging shares." AMS management has been lobbying for a public listing for years. In June, the Dutch parliament finally ratified the Aviation Act, which makes it possible to dispose of up to one-half of the shares minus one of Schiphol Group. The Dutch government holds 75.8% and the City of Rotterdam 2.4%. Schiphol Group said it took note of the proposal put forward by the Dutch finance minister to have the city's decision annulled by the Crown. Oct 4, 2006

Amsterdam Airport

Amsterdam Fees For Noisier Planes Delayed. Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport will not be able to increase fees for noisy aircraft until November at the earliest, it said on Monday. Schiphol currently levies a 30 percent surcharge for the noisiest planes and gives a 10 percent discount for the quietest planes. It had planned to widen the gap to discourage airlines from using noisy planes, a spokesman said. Following a change in the Dutch aviation law, the airport is still in negotiations with the competition authority NMa and as a result cannot introduce new fees in April, the spokesman said. The airport can adjust fees only twice a year. Apart from the noise discounts and surcharges, the airport plans to keep fees stable overall next year to better compete with other European hubs. The spokesman said a recent study had found that Schiphol was still cheaper than London's Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle in Paris and Frankfurt, but the gap was getting smaller, particularly due to higher security charges. A passenger departing from Schiphol currently has to pay 26 euros (USD$33) in airport charges, roughly half of which is for security measures. The Dutch government's plans to sell a minority stake of just under 50 percent in Schiphol Group were put on hold on Saturday when the City of Amsterdam vetoed the necessary changes in Schiphol's articles of association. Schiphol Group also holds stakes in Brisbane Airport and in Terminal 4 of New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. Oct 2, 2006

Helsinki Airport, Northport

SITA said that Northport, a European ground-handling company, will deploy its BagManager baggage reconciliation system under a seven-year agreement that covers deployment at Helsinki Airport by the end of January followed by installation at 14 Finnish domestic airports, Stockholm Arlanda, Oslo Gardermoen and Copenhagen. It is the first time that a ground handler has chosen to employ the system, which traditionally has been marketed to airports. Oct 3, 2006

London BAA

London[sup.1]s BAA To Work With Branson On Fuel-Saving. UK airport operator BAA said on Thursday it had agreed to work with Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson to explore ways for planes to cut fuel consumption at London Gatwick. Branson launched a proposal this week to change the way aircraft taxi onto the runway as part of a package of measures he said would help cut the world's aviation emissions, starting at Gatwick. Oct 2, 2006

Lufthansa

Another switch, this time in Philadelphia. Lufthansa now files out of Terminal A-West. Oct 2, 2006

Moscow Domodedovo

Moscow Domodedovo Airport will see the arrival of bmi from Heathrow at the end of October, a daily service run in conjunction with Russian Federation carrier Transaero, who previously operated out of Gatwick. The rapidly expanding airport, owned by the East Line Group, and with a direct rail link to the Moscow suburbs, has in recent times been attracting a substantial number of major carriers. Royal Jordanian has just transferred becoming the 19th international air carrier operating services. Other Middle Eastern airlines with scheduled services include Emirates, Qatar Airways, Egypt Air, El Al Israel Airlines. Local carrier Karat, a member of VIM-Avia Group, has started a step-by-step transfer of its services to Domodedovo. A complete transfer of flights is planned with the introduction of the winter schedule. http://www.domodedovo.ru/index_en.asp Oct 2, 2006

SAS Scandinavian Airlines

Security has taken on a new meaning with the introduction last week by SAS of a new system that checks that an item of baggage belongs to the same person that takes the flight. Experimentally tried at Lulea Airport, on the Baltic Sea near the Finnish border, passengers checking in baggage have their index finger scanned and finger print recorded. The information is stored in the SAS passenger register and correlates with the details on the baggage tag. A second fingerprint scan is carried out at the departure gate, ensuring that the person who checked in the baggage is the same person who boards the aircraft. All information is automatically erased when the customer completes the journey. The launch of the biometric security check-in marks the beginning of a four-week trial period. Assuming its success the new security measures will be introduced nationally across Sweden during autumn 2006. The airline plans to role out the system throughout Sweden, Denmark and Norway. http://www.scandinavian.net Oct 2, 2006

Editor: Aram Gesar, eMail: [e-mail]

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Oct 2, 2006