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EU plans air traffic safety agency |
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September 28, 2000
BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Union's head office Wednesday revealed plans to create an aviation safety agency. "The EU will at last have the means to conduct a genuine aviation safety policy," said EU Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio in a statement. The proposed agency would be responsible for drawing up and regulating EU-wide airplane safety and security standards. "The agency will encourage the harmonization of technical rules and especially ensure their uniform application," the Commission said in a statement. It added that the agency would be loosely styled on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, acting independently of national governments. The EU has already introduced regulations on noise and gas emissions for airplanes, which the agency will also enforce. Late last year, the Commission revealed plans to establish joint air traffic control of Europe's skies to replace a patchwork of national management systems and to reduce growing flight delays. The 15 EU nations are currently in talks with the aviation industry to work out plans for joint management. Increased cooperation among air-traffic authorities is already reducing flight delays according Eurocontrol, the agency that coordinates air traffic management in 39 European nations. In a statement this month, Eurocontrol said the average delay on commercial flights was 3.5 minutes, a 30 percent decrease on the August 1999 average, despite a 4 percent increase in the number of flights. |