Editor

Ian Sheppard

At a media breakfast hosted by Swiss airline Skywork ahead of the annual conference of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), ERA director general Mike Ambrose said member airlines collectively recorded seven- to eight-percent growth last year, but that the <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/?q=aviation-news/2011-05-26/europe-dodges-new-volcanic-ash-crisis-now">Eyjafjallajökull volcanic ash cloud</a> resulted in an “underlying” value of only 4 percent.

He also hearkened back to the “Bruges Declaration,” in which EC commissioner Siim Kallas recognized the critical importance of air transport and said further regulatory burdens should not be placed on such a key industry.