Subjects:

Air & Space Law

Cross-Border Provision of Air Navigation Services with Specific Reference to Europe Safeguarding Transparent Lines of Responsibility and Liability By Niels van Antwerpen The tremendous flow of air traffic traversing the airspace of the European Union demands extraordinary vigilance on the part of air navigation service providers. Although the first requirement of air navigation services is obviously the enhancement of safety, providers must also attend to the efficiency and optimisation of airspace capacity and the minimisation of air traffic delays. As technological and operational improvements proceed in these areas, jurisdictional issues of responsibility and liability—particularly in cases of mid-air collisions—become ever sharper and more in need of precise definition.

This detailed and insightful exposition focuses on these issues from three overlapping perspectives: the international and European legal framework dealing with air navigation services, the question of state responsibility, and the question of liability for damage inflicted by air navigation service providers.