European Parliament
A7-0094/2012
Silvia-Adriana Ţicău  (S&D ).
(RO)
Mr President, regional aviation is a key enabler in citizens’ mobility. Regional airports make a vital contribution to territorial cohesion and social and economic development in the regions, especially in regions without any other forms of transport. Better connectivity and efficient intermodal mobility can contribute considerably to providing better access to regions, and to the development of their economy and tourism.
Unfortunately, regional airports located away from urban centres are often poorly connected to the transport network on the ground. We encourage local and regional authorities to submit plans for sustainable mobility, providing an efficient logistics chain. We propose an exchange of good practices on connections between regional airports and urban centres. We call on the Commission to take a balanced approach in future revisions of the guidelines in order to provide for a socially and economically viable development of regional air services, taking into consideration the development of the infrastructure needed to ensure intermodality.

