- Every year during peak holiday periods, air travellers are now routinely forced to endure flight delays because of problems with Europe's air traffic control system.

As most people's experience of air travel is confined to their annual family holiday during the summer months, regular flight delays such as occurred last summer are not only a severe inconvenience but also risk alienating huge numbers of people from flying to their holiday destinations.

This in turn would have serious economic and employment repercussions in tourist regions which are heavily dependent on air travel for outside access. Island regions of the Union, such as Ireland, will be particularly badly hit unless practical steps are taken to alleviate the problem as quickly as possible.

An immediate priority should be improving the air traffic control equipment used by the national authorities so that all such equipment is harmonized and made compatible throughout Europe.

Secondly, in the light of the improved security situation following the collapse of the Iron Curtain, each country should undertake an immediate review of the airspace which is reserved for military use, with a view to allocating additional airspace to civil aviation.

Implementing these measures will bring about an early improvement in the situation.