Directive 2009/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on airport charges (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance

• Published date: 14 March 2009
• Subject Matter: trasporti,transportes,transports
• Official Gazette Publication: Gazzetta ufficiale dell’Unione europea, L 70, 14 marzo 2009,Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea, L 70, 14 de marzo de 2009,Journal officiel de l’Union européenne, L 70, 14 mars 2009

02009L0012 — EN — 20.05.2024 — 001.001

---

This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. The Union's institutions do not assume any liability for its contents. The authentic versions of the relevant acts, including their preambles, are those published in the Official Journal of the European Union and available in EUR-Lex. Those official texts are directly accessible through the links embedded in this document

►B DIRECTIVE 2009/12/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 March 2009 on airport charges (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 070 14.3.2009, p. 11)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
►M1	DECISION (EU) 2024/1254 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 24 April 2024	L 1254	1	30.4.2024

---

▼B

DIRECTIVE 2009/12/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 11 March 2009

on airport charges

(Text with EEA relevance)

Article 1

Subject matter

1.

This Directive sets common principles for the levying of airport charges at Community airports.

2.

This Directive shall apply to any airport located in a territory subject to the Treaty and open to commercial traffic whose annual traffic is over five million passenger movements and to the airport with the highest passenger movement in each Member State.

▼M1 —————

▼B

4.

This Directive shall not apply to the charges collected for the remuneration of en route and terminal air navigation services in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1794/2006, or to the charges collected for the remuneration of groundhandling services referred to in the Annex to Directive 96/67/EC, or to the charges levied for the funding of assistance to disabled passengers and passengers with reduced mobility referred to in Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006.

5.

This Directive shall be without prejudice to the right of each Member State to apply additional regulatory measures that are not incompatible with this Directive or other relevant provisions of Community law with regard to any airport managing body located in its territory. This may include economic oversight measures, such as the approval of charging systems and/or the level of charges, including incentive-based charging methods or price cap regulation.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive:

1.

‘airport’ means any land area specifically adapted for the landing, taking-off and manoeuvring of aircraft, including the ancillary installations which these operations may involve for the requirements of aircraft traffic and services, including the installations needed to assist commercial air services;

2.

‘airport managing body’ means a body which, in conjunction with other activities or not as the case may be, has as its objective under national laws, regulations or contracts the administration and management of the airport or airport network infrastructures and the coordination and control of the activities of the different operators present in the airports or airport network concerned;

3.

‘airport user’ means any natural or legal person responsible for the carriage of passengers, mail and/or freight by air to or from the airport concerned;

4.

‘airport charge’ means a levy collected for the benefit of the airport managing body and paid by the airport users for the use of facilities and services, which are exclusively provided by the airport managing body and which are related to landing, take-off, lighting and parking of aircraft, and processing of passengers and freight;

5.

‘airport network’ means a group of airports duly designated as such by the Member State and operated by the same airport managing body.

Article 3

Non-discrimination

Member States shall ensure that airport charges do not discriminate among airport users, in accordance with Community law. This does not prevent the modulation of airport charges for issues of public and general interest, including environmental issues. The criteria used for such a modulation shall be relevant, objective and transparent.

Article 4

Airport network

Member States may allow the airport managing body of an airport network to introduce a common and transparent airport charging system to cover the airport network.

Article 5

Common charging systems

After having informed the Commission and in accordance with Community law, Member States may allow an airport managing body to apply a common and transparent charging system at airports serving the same city or conurbation, provided that each airport fully complies with the requirements on transparency set out in Article 7.

Article 6

Consultation and remedy

1.

Member States shall ensure that a compulsory procedure for regular consultation between the airport managing body and airport users or the representatives or associations of airport users is established with respect to the operation of the system of airport charges, the level of airport charges and, as appropriate, the quality of service provided. Such consultation shall take place at least once a year, unless agreed otherwise in the latest consultation. Where a multi-annual agreement between the airport managing body and the airport users exists, the consultations shall take place as foreseen in such agreement. Member States shall retain the right to request more frequent consultations.

2.

Member States shall ensure that, wherever possible, changes to the system or the level of airport charges are made in agreement between the airport managing body and the airport users. To that end, the airport managing body shall submit any proposal to modify the system or the level of airport charges to the airport users, together with the reasons for the proposed changes, no later than four months before they enter into force, unless there are exceptional circumstances which need to be justified to airport users. The airport managing body shall hold consultations on the proposed changes with the airport users and take their views into account before a decision is taken. The airport managing body shall normally publish its decision or recommendation no later than two months before its entry into force. The airport managing body shall justify its decision with regard to the views of the airport users in the event that no agreement on the proposed changes is reached between the airport managing body and the airport users.

3.

Member States shall ensure that in the event of a disagreement over a decision on...