Interested parties have until 5 March 2025 to comment on a proposed targeted revision of the 2014 Guidelines on state aid to airports and airlines, which offer specific guidance on the notion of aid and the conditions for state aid in the aviation sector to be compatible with the single market.

To cater for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Aviation Guidelines were amended in July 2023 to prolong the initial 10-year transitional period for operating aid to all regional airports by a further three years, from April 2024 — when it was originally due to expire — until April 2027.

Against the background of the developments in the aviation sector, the 2023 prolongation on the operating aid provisions and the results of the 2020 state aid fitness check, the Commission plans to review the Aviation Guidelines.

The public consultation takes the form of a questionnaire that will enable stakeholders and the broader public to participate in the review process and make their voices heard, which the Commission says will help it to identify the necessary changes and better design the new rules.

The review is expected to be finalised by mid-2027.

Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for clean, just and competitive transition, said: “Today, we invite all interested parties to share their views on the proposed targeted revision of the Aviation Guidelines.

“The aviation sector has undergone significant changes in the last 10 years since the current guidelines have entered into force, including the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Gathering information from the market, consumers and public authorities is vital for us to understand how the changed market environment and the 2014 Aviation Guidelines have impacted the aviation industry and whether the instruments remain appropriate or need to be changed and how.

“We also want to hear views of stakeholders on how the Aviation Guidelines, together with existing instruments, could contribute to the objectives of the future Clean Industrial Deal and the green transition in the aviation sector.”