On 27 March, the 2025 Aviation Summit of Airlines4Europe (A4E) took place in Brussels. The annual executive meeting discussed challenges and priorities for the new Commission cycle with policymakers and stakeholders.
Airlines emphasised their significant contribution to European GDP and their crucial role in providing connectivity and affordable air travel for citizens and businesses. Policymakers and the EU Transport Commissioner responded positively to this message and the exchange on details of the top issues started.
Sustainable aviation fuel still missing in 2030?
While competitiveness emerges as the new buzzword in Brussels, airline CEOs presented their sector-specific concerns. The supply of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and related regulations topped this year’s summit agenda, particularly the RefuelEU initiative that affects only European airlines, alongside the global Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). The airline CEOs presented a comprehensive case for reviewing and revising RefuelEU.
The discussion centred on the anticipated SAF shortage by 2030 and the competitive disadvantage faced by European airlines compared to their non-EU rivals due to additional regulatory requirements. As Carsten Spohr from Lufthansa aptly summarised the airline industry’s stance on regulation: “From a Green Deal, to a Clean Deal, we now need a Lean Deal”.
Does ATC deliver?
The efficiency of Air Traffic Control featured prominently in discussions, continuing its annual appearance on the A4E agenda, however not on top of the priority list anymore, in contrast to prior years. Apparently, airlines have more urgent problems at the moment.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary criticised the 20-year failure to implement the Single European Sky. Highlighting increasing ATC fees, record delays and rising aviation taxes, A4E renewed its call to “fix EU’s broken ATC service and reduce costs”.
O’Leary, forecasting record delays for summer 2025, directed two specific demands towards ANSPs. First, he urged adequate staffing during critical “wave 1” morning departures to prevent delays from accumulating throughout the day. Second, O’Leary insisted on maintaining overflight service during regional or national industrial action—although this responsibility lies primarily with Member States rather than ANSPs.
Airlines view delays as particularly damaging given their assessment that the passenger compensation regulation (“EU 261”) is unrealistic. They advocate for regulatory reform, citing an annual industry-wide cost burden of 8 billion Euros. While calls to transfer costs to ANSPs were repeated again, participants acknowledged that Member States hold key responsibilities and no simple solution exists. Nonetheless, ANSPs should expect airlines to consistently hold them publicly accountable for service delivery.
I heard you
Participants welcomed the new Commissioner for Transport and Tourism, Mr Tsitsikostas, and his refreshingly collaborative approach to stakeholder engagement. He stated: “Decarbonisation must not come at the expense of competitiveness. This is my and the Commission’s top priority along with defence and security”. While acknowledging SESAR’s value, he recognised its limitations: “In Europe we are too slow to use our innovations”. His vision for European aviation concluded with three core principles: “Competitive, fair, and sustainable.”
By prioritising European competitiveness, expressing willingness to reduce regulatory burdens and pledging not to add complexity, the Commissioner struck a notably different tone from his predecessors. The coming months will reveal how this approach influences SES2+ implementation and addresses stakeholder concerns.
In a follow-up panel, Eddy Liegeois, head of DG MOVE Aviation Policy unit, reinforced this position by committing to balance sustainability with competitiveness and acknowledging the need to align regulations more closely with operational realities.
High expectations on ANSPs
ANSPs should prepare for increased public scrutiny as airlines amplify their messaging across mainstream media in the coming months. Operational efficiency will be paramount. Until digitalisation and new service delivery models significantly enhance ANSP productivity, airlines will continue to emphasise the air traffic controller shortage and demand staffing levels that accommodate airline capacity demand.
The beginning of Reporting Period 4 (RP4), coupled with significant ATC charge increases 2025 – 2029 across most countries, marks the gap between service expectations and delivery for summer 2025. With air traffic growth following projected increases, this performance gap cannot be bridged in the short term.
Michael O’Leary’s statement — “I wouldn’t mind the increasing fees if I receive proper service” — presents a clear benchmark. The industry will measure against this commitment when one day delay statistics improve and available capacity aligns with airspace user demand.
Looking ahead in 2025
Airlines have called upon Member State governments to enforce ANSP accountability for summer 2025 performance and to address the issue of overflight traffic in case of strikes.
Industry CEOs strongly advocated for enhancing EU aviation sector competitiveness by reducing regulatory burdens in alignment with evolving European political priorities. They emphasised that new regulations should not increase flying costs and that any regulatory revisions must maintain competitive neutrality.
The Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP), scheduled for Q3/2025, is currently under development. Stakeholders anticipate that STIP will address many A4E priorities, especially regarding public support for SAF mandates, though likely excluding any ATC-related issues. ANSPs face pressure to ensure a smooth summer 2025 without record delays. Effective collaboration among operational stakeholders—airlines, ANSPs, airports and the Network Manager—will prove more decisive than additional regulation.
We are in this together
Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM and incoming Chairman of A4E, concluded: “the aviation industry is determined to work with policymakers in order to come up with concrete solutions to increase the competitiveness of European airlines, create a level playing field with non-EU competitors and decarbonise our sector. These are all intertwined challenges, key to Europe’s sovereignty, that must be addressed collectively. Neglecting even one aspect will undermine the success of the others.”
What you should take away
In our opinion, the next milestone to measure success will be the summer 2025 traffic, where the operational stakeholders will need to work together in preparation and live operations. The aviation community will watch how the Commission will manage the regulatory challenges and if it succeeds in prioritising aviation and improving air traffic management efficiency in a new collaborative approach.
