Ukraine's parliamentary members are calling on their German and European Parliament counterparts to work together to settle a long-standing problem regarding civil aviation between Ukraine and Germany. In particular, the Ukrainian MPs want to establish joint commissions between Ukraine's Parliament - Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament and Germany's Bundestag. The motion has been put forward by Verkhovna Rada deputies from across Ukraine's political spectrum.
MP Serhiy Chukmasov, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Transportation and Telecommunications, points out that the group of deputies took this step because, "the real solution to the problem reasonably necessitates the establishment of these joint commissions in order to assess the problem in a thorough and unbiased manner."
Alexey Tolkachev, who heads the Civic Committee for National Security Protection, points out that the committee brought the affair to the attention of the Ukrainian lawmakers. The committee, a civil watch-dog dedicated to bringing to light issues related to the defence of Ukrainian industry's rights is calling for a broad approach from Ukraine's officials, Mr. Tolkachev notes that the parliamentary investigation is only one aspect of the contact that the Civic Committee for National Security Protection is calling for. "Simultaneously with the Ukrainian MP's inquiry with the European Parliament, the government of Ukraine should appeal to the European Commission and German government with requests to reevaluate the aviation prohibitions placed on Ukraine"¦ and the Cabinet of Ministers should also appeal to Germany proposing to conduct three-sided negotiations, with the participation of Ukrainian and German government representatives and the EC." Mr. Tolkachev says that there is a very "real danger of the monopolization of the Ukrainian air transport market by powerful foreign air companies"¦ if the Ukrainian authorities don't protect the interests of Ukrainian airlines."
By contrast, the German government has supported Lufthansa since an October 2005 scheduling problem, when Lufthansa rejected DniproAvia's confirmation of 5 of 6 Lufthansa-requested time slots. The sixth request was shifted by a few hours in order to fit into existing flights on the Dnipropetrovsk-Frankfurt am Main run.
The scheduling issue escalated in March 2006 when the German Federal Department of Civil Aviation (hereafter "" LBA) revoked DniproAvia's landing rights first at Frankfurt and then throughout Germany. The reasons given included Lufthansa's scheduling problems and allegations that the airline had not been given a permit by the Ukrainian authorities for flights in the Summer 2006 period, though the information provided by Lufthansa to the LBA should show that the Ukrainian government did indeed act in a timely manner.
At the same time, Lufthansa unilaterally decided to stop servicing routes to Dnipropetrovsk. Thus the city has been without direct air links to Germany's major cities for months.
MP Chukmasov, observes that, "Since the issue arose not merely between two companies but also on the level of regulatory authorities, it should be definitely settled on the state level; and parliamentary control will accelerate progress in the further resolution of the matter."
As this is not the first dispute between Lufthansa and a Ukrainian carrier, high-level bilateral commissions will serve to shed light on a practice that has literally severed ties between communities.
At the same time, leaving the problem as it is can lead to dangerous consequences for Ukraine's commercial aviation sector. Mr. Chukmasov notes that, "this danger may become a reality in case Lufthansa and the LBA further ignore inter-governmental agreements and internal provisions, and the Ukrainian authorities fail to take protective measures."
