European regional airports body speaks out on Commission proposal

Nicole Mezzasalma

Print Article E-Mail Article E-Mail Author

The Forum of Regional European Airports has expressed concern over the effect the new proposal could have on duty-free sales

The Forum of Regional European Airports (FARE) has issued a statement expressing its concern about a new proposal by the European Commission (EC) which would change the definition of third country passengers and could seriously affect duty-free sales at peripheral airports. The new EC directive has already been spurned by the European Travel Retail Council (ETRC), as previously reported by DFNIonline.

FARE chairman Bart de Boer said: “Current regulations have been in place since 1999, when intra-EU duty-free trade was abolished. I have never heard of any case whereby regional airports would infringe these rules. We believe that there is no reason to change the status quo.”

He added: “The Commission’s proposal poses a clear threat to regional airports. One has to bear in mind that a large proportion of regional airports’ income comes from retail revenues. With soaring fuel prices airlines are putting increasing pressure on regional airports to continue delivering low-cost and competitive services. In the light of this, regional airports’ existence often depends on commercial benefits. However, any changes to current legislation as proposed by the Commission will simply divert the vast part of that much-needed duty-free revenue from regional airports to big hubs.”