• Airlines fly 900 million passengers in Europe, while aviation supports 9 million jobs in the EU.
• A4E member CEOs contribute to #EUAviation25.

Since the EU’s Internal Market for Aviation took off in 1992, air travel has been revolutionised. Today, air travel is cheaper, safer and open to more people than ever before with aviation supporting nearly 9 million jobs in the EU, and contributing over €621 billion to EU GDP (2014).

“With more than 900 million passengers annually Europe is one of world’s strongest aviation power houses. Travellers benefit from low fares and vast choices also generated by the EU’s Internal Market for Aviation. Beyond the economic contribution of air transport there is its social and cultural value for Europe. Let us continue to jointly work together to provide the best connectivity to the benefit of all Europeans and a continuous positive development of Europe’s tourism sector,” said Thomas Reynaert, A4E’s Managing Director.

“We are celebrating a major milestone as the Aviation Internal Market celebrates its 25th birthday. In that time, air travel has been revolutionised. Healthy competition between airlines has led to more destinations and lower prices than ever before. At the same time, Europe has a proud safety record — one that passengers can have full confidence in when they travel,” said Violeta Bulc, EU Commissioner for Transport.

A4E member CEOs join the European Commission in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the creation or the EU’s Internal Market for Aviation. “easyJet was born from the opening of Europe’s skies by the EU which democratised air travel for all. Since then fares have plummeted and the range of destinations has soared, enabling people to more easily live, work and holiday across Europe,” said Carolyn McCall, CEO easyJet.

“The Single Market in aviation is the stand-out achievement of the EU over the last 25 years. It has lowered airfares and enabled citizens to travel freely all over Europe. However, we need to tackle long-standing challenges such as the scandal of repeated ATC strikes, which disrupt the travel plans of millions, and remove ruinous aviation taxes and overpriced airport monopolies,” said Michael O’Leary, CEO Ryanair.

“It is a true privilege to connect Europe with the world and Europeans with each other. We stand for an open and tolerant continent without nationalism. Travelling is more than just visiting places — it is about appreciating diversity. I am proud to say: Our roots are in Germany, but Europe is our home,” said Carsten Spohr, CEO Lufthansa Group.

“It’s a great pride that Air France-KLM was the first European transnational Group to emerge. This was made possible thanks to the successful creation of the single aviation market 25 years ago. We were then pioneers and showed the way for more European and cross border integration. We are confident that in the next 25 years we will continue to make it even safer, efficient and fair, promoting European values, and that we will continue this development for the benefit of all Europeans,” Jean-Marc Janaillac, Chairman and CEO of Air France-KLM Group.

More facts about the contribution of the aviation sector to the EU can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/25years-eu-aviation_en