Coronavirus: Commission proposes measures to provide relief and flexibility to the transport sector

The Commission today adopted a package of measures to support companies in the aviation, rail, maritime and road sectors to deal with the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak. They will ease the regulatory burden and reduce costs for transport companies and may be followed by more proposals in the coming weeks. Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said: “Today’s proposals put forward concrete ways to ease the daily operations in the transport sector, across modes. This should also allow companies in the sector to start focusing on their much-needed recovery.” For aviation, measures will ease ground-handling services and modify air carrier licensing rules in case of financial problems due to the coronavirus outbreak. With regard to ports, authorities may decide to postpone or not to levy port infrastructure charges. For the rail sector the Commission is proposing to extend by three months the deadline by which Member States must transfer some competences, including to the EU Agency for Railways. Finally, all transport modes will benefit from a proposal allowing certain certificates and licences to be extended, as health measures made it difficult for some transport operators and workers to complete certain formalities required under EU law. Today’s proposals follow a number of measures the Commission already put in place, for example, to keep transport workers safe, travellers informed about their rights and essential goods moving across Europe. You can find more detailed information on today’s package here.