Source: European Parliament
The Commission is currently reviewing the 2014 guidelines on state aid to airports and airlines (Aviation Guidelines)[1]. It has carried out stakeholder consultations[2] and launched an external support study to be finalised in 2025.
The objective is to adopt the new rules before April 2027 and stakeholders will have the chance to comment on the draft guidelines before that date.
The revision of the Aviation Guidelines will consider connectivity needs of Member States as well as the need to decarbonise the aviation sector.
At this moment, it appears too early to anticipate about the content of the new rules. In that regard, while the Commission acknowledges that regional airports may contribute to connectivity (and thus social and territorial cohesion of the Union), it notes at the same time that operating aid is one of the most distortive forms of public support, which is why the current Aviation Guidelines foresee the phase-out of operating aid to regional airports by 3 April 2027.
Considering the sectorial developments since 2014, the Commission will assess whether and under which conditions start-up aid to airlines and operating aid to regional airports (including those with up to one million passengers per year) could be maintained.