RSS
Manager of the 'Avram Iancu' International Airport of Cluj-Napoca dismissed the European Commission accusations
The manager of the 'Avram Iancu' International Airport of Cluj-Napoca, David Ciceo says he will produce all the available documents to the European Commission investigators, after a complaint emerged that the airport allegedly granted an illegal state aid to the Wizz Air Company, while the airport itself received a state aid from the Cluj County Council, in the form of public financing.
"The complaint is unfounded. We support this investigation; we will provide all the documents to the investigators and we will prove that the Cluj-Napoca Airport and the Cluj County Council have fully complied with the legislation in force," Ciceo told AGERPRES on Friday.
The manager also reminded that the results of a similar investigation having targeted the Timisoara airport are still unknown to this day.
"I can also tell you that a similar investigation started in Timisoara in 2011 and the results are still not out, which means that it can take five or six years. And there is also the possibility to appeal, which means that we will probably have an answer after 10-15 years," he said.
Cluj County Council Vice Chair Istvan Vakar voiced his hope that the investigation will reveal no irregularities and the fact that no laws were broken.
The European Commission has opened two separate in-depth investigations to examine if measures in favour of two publicly-owned airports in Transylvania (Cluj-Napoca and Targu Mures) and of airlines operating there (notably Wizz Air) are in line with EU state aid rules. Furthermore, the Commission will investigate subsidies by local authorities to the airports.
Cluj-Napoca International Airport is the second biggest airport in Romania and is operated by a company wholly-owned by Cluj County Council. It served nearly 1.2 million passengers in 2014. Following a complaint, the EC has examined several agreements between the airport and Wizz Air between 2007 and 2010 and voiced its concern about the possibility of some agreement clauses resulting in unjustified competition advantages for the airline.