ETRC rallies industry against new EU threat

Nicole Mezzasalma

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A new proposal which would affect the rights of transfer passengers to buy duty-free at their originating airport could have a serious impact on duty-free sales at regional and periphery airports in Europe, lobbyists warn

The European Travel Retail Council (ETRC) has issued a statement warning travel retailers of a new European Commission proposal which could seriously affect duty-free sales at regional and periphery airports in Europe.

Under current rules, most EU countries allow passengers taking intra-EU flights and then transferring to a third country to buy duty-free goods at either the originating or transfer airports. However, the new Excise Duty Directive proposes to change the definition of a traveller going to a country outside the EU to a “passenger holding a transport document, for air or sea travel, stating that the immediate destination is an airport or port situated in a third territory of third country”. This means travellers will not be allowed to make duty-free purchases at their originating airport when transferring in Europe as their immediate destination will be within the EU.

The ETRC said that if the proposal is implemented, duty-free sales at regional airports and at airports in peripheral EU member states will be “severely affected”. ETRC president Frank O’Connell added that he was “seriously concerned” about the new wording, which he defined as a “discriminatory measure against smaller regional airports dependent on commercial revenue and will further complicate the rules and regulations in place for transfer passengers”.

ETRC general secretary Keith Spinks told DFNIonline that he has met with senior Commission officials and MEPs to discuss the matter. He said: “Although this is primarily a technical directive, it could have major implications to regional airports. If the wording of this article is not changed it will seriously affect the revenue they get from duty-free.”