Commission proposes stricter aviation State aid regime with new decarbonisation conditions for airport funding

The European Commission has launched a consultation on draft revised State aid guidelines for the aviation sector that would tighten public support rules for airports while embedding new decarbonisation conditions into future aviation infrastructure funding.

The proposal reflects a broader shift in EU aviation policy away from structural operating subsidies and towards targeted support linked to climate objectives, resilience and industrial transformation.

Under the draft revised guidelines, operating aid would in principle only remain available for airports handling fewer than one million passengers annually. Airports above that threshold would be expected to cover their own operating costs without continued public support.

The Commission argues that many larger regional airports should now be commercially viable, despite acknowledging that smaller airports continue to face lingering post-Covid traffic weakness and higher operating costs linked to recent energy market disruptions.

A transitional regime would nevertheless remain in place for airports between 500,000 and one million annual passengers until April 2032.

The draft also significantly narrows eligibility for airport investment aid. Public funding for airport infrastructure would generally only remain available for airports handling up to three million passengers annually, down from the current five million threshold.

Most notably, the Commission introduces explicit green conditionality requirements for airport expansion projects involving new capacity.

Under the proposal, airports seeking State aid for projects such as new terminals, runway extensions or relocated infrastructure would need to submit a “credible plan” to decarbonise their operations within five years. That would include monitoring airport emissions, implementing carbon management procedures and progressively phasing out fossil fuel use in airport operations.

The draft also states that investment aid should be conditional on the use of “zero-carbon technology where available or state-of-the-art low-carbon technology” for airport energy-consuming equipment.

Additional aid intensity bonuses would be available for infrastructure dedicated to zero-emission aircraft operations or fixed electrical ground power systems intended to reduce aircraft emissions on the ground.

At the same time, the Commission makes clear that future aviation decarbonisation support will increasingly be channelled through broader horizontal State aid instruments rather than aviation-specific subsidies.

The draft explicitly points to the Climate, Energy and Environmental Aid Guidelines, the revised General Block Exemption Regulation and the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework as the principal mechanisms for supporting sustainable aviation fuels, airport electrification, energy efficiency and clean aviation infrastructure.

The Commission states that it does not see a need to create additional aviation-specific decarbonisation aid tools within the revised aviation guidelines themselves.

The proposal also removes compatibility rules for airline start-up aid for new routes, arguing that such support has become largely unnecessary in a fully liberalised market and that airlines should now bear the commercial risk of opening new connections.

Meanwhile, the Commission proposes widening the geographic scope used to assess distortions of competition between airports. The current 100-kilometre and 60-minute catchment test would be expanded to 150 kilometres and 90 minutes, potentially increasing scrutiny of regional airport subsidies.

The consultation runs until June 11th, with the revised guidelines expected to apply from April 2027.

Commission targets rail ticketing gatekeepers with mandatory platform access, expanded passenger rights

The European Commission today proposed a sweeping overhaul of EU rail ticketing and passenger protection rules, seeking to force dominant national rail operators to open their ticketing systems to competitors and third-party platforms while extending passenger rights for multi-operator journeys.

The twin legislative proposals form part of the Commission’s broader effort to complete the Single European Railway Area and support modal shift toward rail under the European Green Deal and Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.

Under the proposed Regulation on rail ticketing, railway operators would be required to share ticketing content, fares and real-time data with independent online ticketing providers on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” terms. Operators with a market share of at least 50 percent in national passenger rail markets would also be obliged to host competitors’ services on their own online booking platforms.

The Commission said incumbent state-owned rail companies continue to act as “gatekeepers” in the digital rail ticketing market by selectively restricting access to ticketing data and excluding rival operators from dominant booking channels. The proposal explicitly targets vertically integrated rail companies whose booking platforms retain quasi-monopolistic positions in national markets.

The draft legislation would also require rail operators to make tickets available for sale at least five months before departure, provided services have been included in the working timetable.

The Commission framed the proposal as a competition and single market measure intended to replicate the digital openness seen in aviation booking systems, arguing that rail ticketing remains structurally fragmented despite successive railway liberalisation packages.

Alongside the ticketing proposal, the Commission proposed amendments to the EU Rail Passenger Rights Regulation to strengthen protections for passengers travelling on multi-operator journeys booked in a single commercial transaction.

The proposal introduces a new legal concept of a “single ticket”, extending rights to rerouting, reimbursement, compensation and assistance when delays or cancellations on one operator cause missed connections on another operator within the same booked journey.

The Commission said passengers currently face significant legal uncertainty because many multi-operator rail bookings purchased in a single transaction do not qualify as “through-tickets” under existing EU law, leaving travellers without guaranteed rights if connections are missed.

Under the proposal, railway undertakings, ticket vendors and tour operators would be prohibited from artificially segmenting journeys into separate tickets where a single ticket could be offered.

Ticket vendors and tour operators would also become financially liable where they sell itineraries that fail to respect minimum connection times. In such cases, they could be required to reimburse rerouting costs or repay the full ticket price, alongside compensation equal to 75 percent of the ticket value.

The Commission estimated the passenger rights reform would generate net benefits of €5.63 billion between 2028 and 2050, driven largely by improved consumer confidence and increased rail demand. Railway undertakings are expected to incur compliance costs of approximately €2.14 billion over the same period.

The rail ticketing proposal is closely linked to the Commission’s parallel proposal on multimodal booking services and forms part of a wider attempt to create interoperable EU-wide digital mobility platforms.

The proposals are likely to face resistance from incumbent railway operators, several of which have historically opposed mandatory ticketing integration and broader through-ticketing obligations, arguing such measures interfere with commercial freedom and risk increasing operational and compensation costs.

Consumer groups welcome EU rail passenger package as industry concerns emerge over ticketing overhaul

Consumer organisations and sustainable transport advocates broadly welcomed the European Commission’s proposed rail passenger package on Wednesday, while concerns rapidly emerged over the operational and commercial implications of mandatory ticketing integration rules for incumbent railway operators.

The legislative package, unveiled by the Commission on Wednesday, would require dominant railway operators to share ticketing data and fares with third-party booking platforms and competing operators, while expanding passenger rights for multi-operator rail journeys purchased in a single transaction.

European consumer organisation BEUC said the proposals could significantly simplify rail booking and help restore consumer confidence in train travel.

Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, said the reforms could be “just the ticket” to encourage more consumers to use rail services again, arguing that booking rail journeys had become “far too complex” in recent years.

BEUC particularly welcomed provisions requiring incumbent operators to open ticket sales to additional platforms and the extension of passenger rights for journeys booked in a single transaction. However, the organisation noted that the proposed five-month harmonised booking horizon remained relatively limited compared with aviation markets, where tickets are often sold much further in advance.

Environmental NGO Transport & Environment similarly welcomed the strengthening of passenger rights, particularly automatic rerouting rights in the event of missed rail connections and expanded obligations for accommodation and assistance.

However, the group warned that the package may fail to deliver a substantial increase in cross-border rail usage unless lawmakers further strengthen obligations on incumbent operators to distribute international rail tickets across major booking platforms.

Georgia Whitaker, Rail Campaign Manager at Transport & Environment, said the proposals represented a “huge leap forward” for rail passenger rights but argued they did not go far enough to ensure passengers could easily book multi-leg cross-border journeys.

T&E argued that dominant railway operators should ultimately be required to sell tickets across major routes where passengers currently rely heavily on aviation or road transport.

The package has also triggered debate among rail policy specialists over whether the Commission’s approach risks creating operational burdens for railway undertakings while failing to fully resolve underlying fragmentation issues.

Rail commentator Jon Worth described the proposals as both “radical and far reaching” but potentially “unworkable”, criticising the Commission’s emphasis on creating legally protected “single tickets” across multiple operators.

Worth argued that harmonised booking horizons and integrated ticketing obligations could create substantial burdens for railway operators while generating new complications for regular rail passengers using discount cards or national subscription schemes.

He also questioned whether forcing incumbent platforms to distribute competitors’ tickets would substantially improve passenger outcomes for more complex multi-border journeys involving several operators.

Instead, Worth argued the EU should focus on guaranteeing passenger protection across multiple tickets purchased in separate transactions, provided minimum connection times are respected, combined with legally binding disruption-sharing arrangements between railway undertakings.

The proposals now enter the ordinary legislative procedure, with both the European Parliament and Council expected to face intense lobbying from incumbent national railway operators, consumer groups and independent ticketing platforms over the scope of mandatory ticketing access and passenger compensation obligations.

European cycling industry sees stabilisation signs, but correction pressures persist

European cycling industry representatives see signs of market stabilisation in 2026, although inventory pressures and weaker employment expectations suggest the sector’s post-pandemic correction is not yet complete, according to a new survey by the European Cycling Industries association.

The survey, presented to ECI’s Market Impact and Intelligence Expert Group, found that 69% of respondents expect revenues in 2025 to be either stable or higher than in 2024, broadly in line with the stabilisation trend observed last year.

That marks an improvement compared with weaker sentiment recorded in early 2024, although the association said it remains premature to conclude that the sector has returned to sustained growth.

The survey covered respondents across the cycling ecosystem, including manufacturers, retailers, bike-sharing operators, leasing providers, cycling ITS companies and national industry associations.

Employment expectations remain comparatively weak. Around 31% of respondents expect to reduce staffing levels over the next two years, the highest proportion recorded since the survey began in 2020.

The study also pointed to renewed supply-side pressures in certain segments, including components, frames and electrical systems, while overstocking of complete bicycles continues to weigh on the market.

Half of respondents said excess bicycle inventories, particularly older stock, continue to affect their business.

The association said the findings reflect continued market correction across the European cycling sector alongside increasing geopolitical uncertainty.

Despite those pressures, longer-term confidence in cycling-related policy support remains comparatively strong. Around 63% of respondents expect increased EU-level support for cycling policy in the coming period, while 50% said they remain confident in the long-term growth of the European cycling industry.

The survey additionally found that 79% of respondents are exploring new partnerships and collaborations to support future business development.