FUNDATIONAL MANIFIESTO

Foundational Manifesto of the Spanish National Association of Affected by the Impact of Air Traffic

As affected by the contamination and risks from airport traffic, we have established ourselves as a nationwide platform to bring awareness to the public opinion and the public authorities about the need of a real and effective sustainable development of the increase of air traffic and infrastructures, thus

We support a sustainable growth of the air traffic,

• If progress harms our health, our quality of life and our environment or put these goods at risk, it is not progress.

• The actual and future increment o air traffic can and must be compatible with health protection, improvement of quality of life and environment preservation and, at the same time, favour the economic growth and inter-territorial development.

We consider that airports and airways, both civil and military,

• Must be planned, designed, authorised and implemented with maximum security warranties and operative efficiency after a costs-benefits evaluation and environmental evaluation, both real and effective.

• They must satisfy real air transport needs instead of becoming urbanism development tools.

• They must be built far from populated areas, avoiding acoustic impact, chemical contamination and accidents risks.

• They must respect all environmental aspects and avoid protected natural areas

• For those routes susceptible of being more annoying, there must be established, preserved and used uninhabited corridors and, whenever possible, address the affection towards the open sea, instead of letting it affect the people.

• People that have to endure the affection, must be fairly compensated meanwhile the cause of the affection is not resolved.

• They must be audited and evaluated by independent bodies, after a period of public participation, prior to coming into service.

We denounce that,

• Legislation applicable to the construction and management of airports and airways is insufficient, allowing the emissions of unhealthy noise levels, not authorised for other activities and not taking in considerations those who suffer their impact: citizens and environment.

• The commercial interests of the Spanish Airport Authority, AENA, is becoming not compatible with the provision of a public service and the satisfaction of the common interest.

• The Ministry of Civil Infrastructures has delegated in AENA, as a matter of fact, its regulating, inspecting and controlling functions, so that AENA acts as judge and jury, without any external control and without transparency, not submitted to regulated.

• Environmental bodies do not fulfil either with their obligation to protect the environment, being their evaluations of environmental impact mere administrative procedures, far from reality.

• The participation of municipalities and local authorities in the airport planning has proven to be negative for citizens, for they are prioritizing the urban growth before the quality of life, as is made clear by the housing development below air corridors and close to landing tracks.

We claim a change in the present model implying,

I. A technical and independent audit of all existing airports and their Master Plans, aimed at revising the fulfilment of all security, efficiency and environmental protection criteria.

II. The revision, actualization and harmonization of the legislation applicable to the creation and management of airport infrastructures and air navigation with the legislation applicable to public procurements, citizens participation and, very specially, environmental protection.

III. A national and regional airport strategic planning, attending only to real air transport demands solving the problems carried from the lack of secure, not disturbing and hardly environmentally affected air corridors

IV. The creation of legal instruments ensuring the transparency of information and the real and effective participation of the affected citizens from the early phases of the planning, the design and the authorisation of airport infrastructure projects and air routes in the terminal area of the air space.

V. The control of the airport management by independent bodies, transparent for the citizens.

JOSEP VELASCO: PRESIDENT PROU SOROLL BARCELONA VICEPRESIDENT AIA SPAIN MEMBER OF BORD OF DIRECTORS OF UECNA