AAPA calls for end to unnecessary regulation
Asia Pacific carriers are being hampered by a “strait-jacket of overreaching government policies”, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
Speaking at the conclusion of the AAPA’s Assembly of Presidents in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, the association’s Director General, Andrew Herdman, said that the AAPA would “challenge these government constraints with renewed vigour”.
“The bold initiatives being taken by Asia Pacific carriers to change the competitive landscape offer great promise to the travelling public, but governments seem oblivious to the counterproductive impact of never ending new legislation and taxation,” Herdman said.
The event, which saw the presidents and CEOs of most major full-service Asian airlines gather at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, passed several resolutions, most significantly a call for the EU to postpone the inclusion of international aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), pending international agreement. It also called on governments “to work within the auspices of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) towards an effective multilateral agreement”.
Airline hopes on this issue were raised earlier on Friday, when an EU representative suggested that the European bloc may be ready to compromise on the controversial ETS issue.
The European Commission’s Director of Air Transport, Matthew Baldwin, said that Europe “wanted an ICAO solution” and that people would be “surprised” about how much they are willing to compromise.
The AAPA also renewed its call on governments to “carefully consider” the impact of taxation on the aviation industry.