98/710/EC: Commission Decision of 16 September 1998 on a procedure relating to the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 (Case VII/AMA/11/98 - Italian traffic distribution rules for the airport system of Milan) (notified under document number C(1998) 2625) (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance)

Article 1

Italy may not apply the traffic distribution rules for the airport system of Milan set out in Decree No 46-T of 5 July 1996 and Decree No 70-T of 13 October 1997.

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic.
Done at Brussels, 16 September 1998.
For the Commission
Neil KINNOCK
Member of the Commission
(1) OJ L 240, 24. 8. 1992, p. 8.
(2) OJ L 228, 9. 9. 1996, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 162, 13. 7. 1995, p. 25.
(4) OJ L 140, 11. 6. 1993, p. 51.
(5) OJ L 127, 19. 5. 1994, p. 22.
(6) OJ L 322, 25. 11. 1997, p. 44.
(7) While access to Bergamo airport is still possible, the distant location of this airport and the lack of adequate access and technical infrastructure make this an even less attractive alternative to Linate.
(8) At pp. 54-55 and at p. 30 respectively.
(9) At pp. 30-31 and at pp. 28-31 respectively.
(10) Case T-260/94 Air Inter v. Commission [1997] ECR II-997, paragraph 112.
(11) See in particular Case C-288/89 Collectieve Antenne voorziening Gouda (Mediawet) [1991] ECR I-4007, paragraphs 10 to 15.
(12) OJ C 334, 9. 12. 1993, p. 3.
(13) At p. 32.
(14) In 1997, 846 100 passengers flew from Milan to another airport via Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, London, Madrid and Rome. 24,5 % of these passengers flew via Rome, 21,4 % via London, 17,4 % via Frankfurt and 15,1 % via Amsterdam. Out of this number:
- 73 399 passengers flew to a European airport (non domestic). 27,3 % of these passengers flew via Frankfurt, 24,4 % via Amsterdam, 21,3 % via London and 13,5 % via Rome,
- 169 626 passengers flew to an airport located in North America. 33,4 % of these passengers flew via London, 25,7 % flew via Amsterdam, 13,4 % flew via Rome and 11 % flew via Paris,
- 130 552 passengers flew to an airport located in South America. 41 % of these passengers flew via Madrid, 22 % via Rome, 16 % via Amsterdam and 7,8 % via Paris,
- 255 998 passengers flew to an airport located in the Far East. 32,2 % of these passengers flew via London, 22,2 % via Frankfurt, 18,3 % via Rome, and 15,2 % via Amsterdam,
- 71 282 passengers flew to an airport located in Africa. 65 % of these passengers flew via Rome, 12 % via Paris, 10 % via Frankfurt and 6,7 % via London.
(15) In 1997, 16,4 % of passengers flying between Milan and Rome (Fiumicino) connected to another flight departing from that airport. This represented a volume of 207 750 passengers of whom only 15 % connected on a domestic or European flight while 85 % connected on an intercontinental flight. These passengers generate proportionately more revenue because of the long-haul segment.
(16) Although even if Alitalia serves a particular destination by means of a direct flight and only from Malpensa, in particular price-sensitive passengers may still prefer to take connecting services through another hub. Convenient access to Linate is likely to incite such passengers to fly from Linate to Rome to connect with another airline offering for example a cheaper service than Alitalia's direct service, rather than from Malpensa to another hub in the Community.

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