EBAA Calls for Bizav Recognition in EU Aviation Policy

The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has called on the European Commission (EC) to acknowledge the industry’s value and specific needs in its new aviation and aeronautics strategy for the European Union. On Friday, the trade group issued a summary of its response to an EC consultation process that concluded on May 21.

In the position paper, EBAA called on the EC’s new policy to protect the right for business aircraft to operate “as an integral part of Europe’s transport system.” The association pointed to airport slot allocation practices as an example of how the industry’s non-scheduled operations are at a disadvantage in terms of market access compared with airlines.

According to EBAA, while current slot policies are neutral in theory, the fact is that they favor historical precedence and utilization patterns—in which scheduled operators are clearly dominant in terms of traffic volumes—in allocating access to slot-controlled airports. “The result is that business aviation faces growing discriminatory barriers to airport access,” the EBAA statement said.

Excessive Decarbonization Burden

EBAA also called for business aviation to be given more recognition for its commitment to decarbonizing flights. Pointing to policies such as the ReFuelEU initiative on sustainable aviation fuel and the emissions trading scheme (ETS), its position paper said that these impose operational and administrative burdens on the sector that are out of proportion to the resulting environmental benefits.

The current EU aviation strategy was introduced in 2015, and the EC is now in the process of drafting its replacement. Specifically, the EC is conducting a review of the ETS under which free allocations of carbon allowances are set to be phased out this year.

Eurocontrol air traffic data shows that around 1,000 of the EU’s 1,500 airports cannot be accessed by scheduled airlines, with business aviation connecting more than 80,000 city pairs, often on routes with no commercial service and with an average time saving per flight of 127 minutes. Around 60,000 emergency medical flights are conducted each year to and from European airports.

EBAA cited data showing that business aviation had supported 450,000 jobs in 2025, contributing approximately €100 billion ($116 billion) to Europe’s gross domestic product. A January 2025 report by Oxford Economics—commissioned by the Brussels-based association—concluded that the connectivity provided by business aviation can support up to €120 billion in foreign direct investment over a five-year period.