Update on IFTTA News

• German Court challenges EU Regulation on security standards for passports and travel documents; 
• UK: airlines to include debit card surcharges in headline prices;
• Canada: Transportation Agency decides in flight cancellation and overbooking cases; 
• Germany: lugagge to be carried on a later flight is no legitimate reason to deny boarding; 
• Denmark: passengers of a cancelled flight entitled to rerouting at the earliest opportunity; 
• New Body Scanners at Scottish Airports; 
• Netherlands: new reference for ECJ preliminary ruling regarding air passenger rights; 
• German Supreme Court: no compensation for flight cancellation caused by strike; 
• EU Economic and Social Committee publishes opinion on passenger rights in all transport modes; 
• Egypt: new tourism minister appointed; 
• IFTTA Law Review 2-2012 available online; 
• USA: DOT fines companies for violating Consumer Protection and Price Advertising Rules; 
• UK: Bad Taste Tweets Not Criminal; 
• USA: Airlines lose appeal against DOT fare rules;
• EU Commission publishes consumer tips for visitors to the 2012 Olympic Games; 
• UK and Unfair Contract Terms Reforms; 
• CJEU: inclusion of flight cancellation insurance as a default setting unlawful when selling air tickets over the internet;
• UK: British Airways to check passengers on Google?; 
• Austria: regulation on proper rail passenger behaviour; 
• USA: new law to require airlines to seat families together?; 
•  Scottish Jurisdiction over Shetland; 
• Austria: Appelate court decides on "fly all or pay up" clauses; 
• Spain: Court of Appeal of Barcelona regards Ryanair's boarding pass printing policy lawful; 

UK: new departure tax detrimental to tourism?

ETOA, which represents inbound European tour operators warns UK government to go ahead with plans to increase Air Passenger Duty (APD) next November while the Netherlands and Belgian governments have this month abolished departure taxes in an effort to give a stimulus to tourism through their international airports. ETOA fears that APD could make the UK an expensive destination for the start and end of group tours to Europe and the country would be looking increasingly like an optional add-on than a key element of a visit to Europe for many in-bound long-haul travelers.

Source: eTurboNews; find article here>>.

IATA Welcomes Abolition of Dutch Tax

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the decision by the Dutch Government to abolish the recently introduced departure tax as part of its economic stimulus package. The tax added a cost of between EUR 11.25 to EUR 45 for every passenger departing from Dutch airports.

Source: IATA press release No 12 of 27 March 2009; find full text here>>.

Egypt: smuggled ancient artifacts recovered

Egypt's Minister of Culture announced last that the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) stopped in the last hour the sale of two ancient Egyptian objects in London and Holland, in an attempt to save Egypt’s illegally smuggled heritage. He stated that one of the objects is an inscribed relief removed from a wall in the 26th Dynasty tomb of Mutirdis in Asasif on Luxor’s west bank, and was meant to be put on sale Thursday, May 1st at Bonhams, an auction house in London.
The relief om the tomb of Mutirdis appeared in Bonhams’s sale catalogue one week ago. In response, Hawass sent an urgent letter to Chantelle Waddington of Bonhams asking for the sale of the relief to be stopped, as it was stolen and smuggled from Egypt.
In collaboration with Egypt’s ambassador to Holland, a 19th Dynasty green ushabti figure of a woman called Hener was taken out of an auction sale, and will be returned to its homeland. This ushabti figure was stolen from a Saqqara storehouse and is now at the Leiden Museum awaiting its journey back to Egypt after the issuance of Amsterdam’s court verdict.

Source: eTurboNews; find full article here>>.

"VAT: Commission takes steps against 8 Member States as regards the application of the travel agents' scheme"

As just stated by the EU Press Room, "The European Commission has formally requested Poland, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, Italy, Finland, Greece and the Czech Republic to amend their legislation with regard to the application of the special VAT 'margin' scheme for travel agents. The request is in the form of a reasoned opinion which is the second stage of the infringement proceedings provided for in Article 226 of the Treaty. If these Member States fail to comply with the reasoned opinion within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Communities."

This Press Release is available in full text.

Netherlands: Airline association to take Dutch government to court over environment tax

The Board of Airline Representatives in the Netherlands (Barin) is taking the Dutch government to court to challenge the environmental tax set to take effect July 1, an Air France-KLM spokesperson told Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad.
The court case is expected to begin March 5, with Schiphol Group perhaps also slated to join, the report said.
The Dutch government decided last year to put a environmental tax on airline tickets: 11.25 eur per flight for European destinations less than 2,500 km, and 45 eur for longer flights.

The Netherlands is the only European country to have such a tax, the paper said.

Source: etourbonews

"IATA: Dutch ticket tax proposal is ineffective and inappopriate"

"The International Air Transport Association (IATA) condemned the Dutch Government's plans to impose further taxes on air passengers. The government is planning to tax passengers departing the Netherlands by air as much as € 45 citing environmental reasons.
The passenger tax also breaches resolutions of the International Civil Organisation (ICAO) and Article 15 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. 'I am surprised that the Netherlands, as an ICAO Contracting State, chooses to ignore its obligations and trample over international agreements', Bisignani, IATA Director General and CEO, commented."

Source: Avionews.

Dutch Bordello to Sue for Right to Open Branch at Airport

he Dutch Bordello, Yab Yum, threatened to sue for the right to provide a "relax service" at Schipol Airport for tired travellers. Schipol Airport had rejected their request as inappropriate to the overall philosophy of the airport.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Pilot Fined for being Drunk

A Royal Air Maroc pilot was prevented from flying by officials at Schipol Airport after security officials noticed that he was staggering on his way to fly his plane to Tangiers. There were 125 passengers on board. He was found to have four times the level of alcohol permitted for driving in the Netherlands. He was fined NGL 2500 ($1000).

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Government

In February, the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament voted to legalise brothels for the first time since 1912. Whilst prostitution was already legal, brothels were merely tolerated. Those promoting the new law argued that it would make it harder for criminals to use sex clubs as a cover and for illegal immigrants to work there.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Lockerbie: Update

n 13 January 1999, the UK Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, visited Camp Zeist in the Netherlands which is to be used for the trial of the two Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing. The former US airbase currently used by the Dutch, will technically become part of Scotland for the purposes of the trial, which will be held according to Scots Criminal Law. Negotiations are continuing with the Libyan authorities who have expressed reservations about the men serving their prison sentences, if convicted, in a Scottish jail. One of the concerns is that they might be subject to UK and US intelligence' interrogations whilst in the prison. However, Mr Cook said that standards in Scottish prisons were as good as any in the world and Libyan and international bodies would be able to monitor the men's conditions. As soon as the men arrive in the Netherlands, the sanctions against Libya would be lifted. On 13 January, JANA, the Libyan news agency reported a "major headway" in the negotiations.