AAPA calls for less government interference

Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has called for airlines to be released from “the straightjacket of restrictive government policies”.

He said that government inefficiency remained a clear obstacle to recovery.

“Whilst airlines grapple with this multiplicity of commercial challenges, governments appear oblivious to the calls of the industry for less interference,” he said.

“In order for the industry to achieve long term sustainability and growth, it is now time for governments to wake up to the idea of removing policies that have inhibited development for decades.”

Herdman was speaking at the end of AAPA’s Assembly of Presidents, where member airlines said government interference and inefficiencies in the areas of taxation, environment, air traffic management infrastructure, and passenger facilitation “placed a tremendous burden on the industry, which needed to be addressed urgently”.

On environmental issues, AAPA is calling on governments to adopt a global sectoral approach to aviation and the environment, “instead of a patchwork of uncoordinated schemes and arbitrary levies that will fail to achieve the desired environment objectives in a cost effective manner”.

On taxation, AAPA said government taxes and charges account for around 15 percent of the average ticket price, even though the industry pays separately and in full for its own infrastructure.

“New waves of taxation on airlines are in the pipeline, often deceptively packaged as ‘green’ initiatives," AAPA noted.

AAPA also called on governments in Asia Pacific to support the development of a regional framework that will address the air traffic management infrastructure needed to support future regional industry growth in an efficient and cost effective manner, including the adoption of inter-operable globally harmonised technologies.

Finally, AAPA said the airline industry and other stakeholders had made significant progress in recent years introducing new technologies, including the use of biometrics and self-service check-in facilities to streamline a passenger’s journey.

“This commitment to an improved passenger experience has not necessarily led to speedier passage of travellers through airport controls, since governments continue to impose onerous security procedures, which often appear to be based on fear rather than a balanced evaluation of threats and risk assessments,” AAPA added.