Move to stop LCC facility
A move to stop a terminal for low cost carriers at Brussels Zaventem Airport has been slammed by their association.
The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) said it was "difficult to understand" why legacy airline wanted to halt the facility.
The new facility, in a currently unused terminal at Zaventem, is due to open in October.
It will be available to both LCCs and legacy airlines.
But three organisations representing legacy carriers, among them the Belgian Air Transport Association (BATA,) have applied for an injunction to stop the facility.
The legacy carriers say they have not been properly consulted over the project which they say should not go ahead.
The injunction stops the airport from working on the new facility.
ELFAA said the move was now jeopardising the opening.
John Hanlon, ELFAA's secretary general, said airports were adapting to meet the needs of airlines which were becoming more specialised and looking for different facilities.
"Some legacy carriers are trying to prevent a legitimate project simply to keep out
unwanted competition and to uphold an outdated, one-size fits all system, under
which low-fares airlines effectively subsidise a few traditional carriers.
"Low-fares airlines use airport infrastructure much more effectively and allow an airport to grow its passenger numbers, thereby creating much-needed jobs at the airport and in the wider economy.
"They do not require provision of many of the expensive features at airports, which traditional carriers insist on, and should not be made to cross-subsidise them."
www.elfaa.com [1] www.brusselsairport.com [2]