ATC Extends Deadlines For Traffic Service Charges European Airlines Navigate COVID-19 Crisis

Eurocontrol has decided to extend the latest deadlines for air traffic services charges incurred by airlines between February and May of 2020 into 2021, as carriers and airlines in the region have made temporary layoffs and aircraft have been grounded due to the impact of coronavirus pandemic which has by the way taken toll in travel restrictions and revenues.

The deferred payments which are worth about €500m a month have recently been delayed as the effects of the pandemic has led to the shutdown of international travel, making it almost impossible to get in any income.

Eamonn Brennan, director-general of Eurocontrol, said in a statement confirming the payment deferral: “I am really delighted that our Member States have approved this essential measure. It will provide much-needed liquidity support. Many airlines contacted Eurocontrol to confirm that they would not be in a position to facilitate their next payments.”

A new agreement was made amongst all the member states of Eurocontrol to extend deadlines for payment of February’s charges to November 2020, with payments for months March to May delayed to 2021. These deferrals come just in the first year just after Eurocontrol implemented a new way to account for air carriers flying through individual member state airspace.

As organizations representing these airlines are happy and praise the new extension plan on deadlines, some of Europe’s largest operators have already grounded their aeroplanes and have given a leave of a send to employees on account of being unable to earn revenue from international coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions.

Meanwhile, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) on April 7th Posted on their website expressing how they’ve been forced to temporarily lay off a majority of their employees and have given notice of permanent redundancy for some 120 positions in Sweden. They are currently not offering international passenger flights and only operate on a few domestic routes in Norway and Sweden.