RIGA - Major airlines operating out of Riga International Airport were set to meet with officials from the Latvian Competition Council this week in an effort to thwart the airport's new discount fee system, British Airways' Baltic representative Tom Anderson said.
Dissatisfaction arose after the airport, together with the Transport Ministry, announced that it would offer airlines discounts of up to 80 percent depending on how many passengers they handled annually.
At an Oct. 7 meeting, officials from the disgruntled - Czech CSA airlines, Lufthansa, KLM, Poland's LOT, Finnair, airBaltic and British Airways - could not, however, agree on whether they should appeal to the European Commission's competition institutions, Anderson said.
He added on Oct. 6 that airlines would consider making a united approach against the Transport Ministry and, if needed, even approach the competition council or the International Aviation Transport Association.
Anderson said the reduced fees in effect punish British Airways on the Riga-London route, since it handles fewer passengers than airBaltic or Ryanair.
"And this goes for all routes," he said, explaining that the Riga airport market was favoring newcomers and that only passengers would suffer from this.
The British Airways airline said either the progressive fee discount system should be abolished or every airline should be able to enjoy its benefits.
In order to raise tourist numbers, Anderson believes that airport fee discounts should be kept in effect but applied to all airlines. "The rules of the game must be equal for everyone," said Anderson. "We are ready to compete with anyone - but honestly," he added.
As of Nov. 1, Riga International Airport will apply progressive discounts to airport fees charged by the number of passengers handled. If an airline handles over 250,000 passengers a year, it will be entitled to an 80 percent discount on airport fees.
The International Aviation Transport Association has already objected to the new system, pointing out that the European Commission abolished a similar discount system at Portuguese airports in 1999.
But the Latvian Transport Ministry reported that the new system would remain, as it does not discriminate and allows all companies to handle as many passengers as they like.
After carrying out a number of airport fee cuts this year, the ministry introduced the new discount system as an aim to boost both passenger numbers and tourists visiting the Baltic state. Not much later, both Ryanair and EasyJet an-nounced plans to launch flights to Riga from major cities in Europe.
In a letter to Arnis Muiznieks, the International Air Transport Association said that the 1999 EC decision was a precedent and that in similar disputes the EC would most likely decide against volume-based discounts, including Riga.
Riga International Airport handled over 700,000 passengers in 2003. The forecast for this year is around 1 million, while the Trans-port Ministry hopes to reach 5 million - 6 million a year by 2010.
