Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

The unfolding crisis for Europe’s stagnating economies presents an opportunity for business aviation to recast itself as part of the solution rather than part of perceived problems. EBAA takes some encouragement from politicians who now appear more focused on how they can reverse the continent’s decline in the face of hostility from the new U.S. administration and political fragmentation among European Union (EU) member states.
However, EBAA officials see EU leaders somewhat paralyzed by political polarization and failing to take strategic decisions at a time when they are urgently needed. This in turn blocks paths to progress on issues critical to business aviation, such as impractical restrictions on tankering fuel and reversing onerous taxes such as those recently imposed on charter flight passengers in France.
“We have European Commissioners focusing on the question of what needs to be done to bring Europe back on track and competitive, but too many people in the administration are stuck in the old times and so the commission is only making baby steps with the changes,” EBAA secretary general Holger Krahmer told AIN at EBACE 2025.
For EBAA, the key to unlock progress is increasingly based on a more ground-up approach to lobbying. It is urging its member companies to engage more directly with national governments over issues that directly impact them.
“Our members face a lot of very specific challenges because there are still a lot of irrational decisions being taken,” Krahmer explained. “Our message is not just to complain. We need to organize ourselves and apply more resources at a national and international level. We have to do more than some other groups because we’re not seen as a priority and it is easy [for decision makers] to exclude us.”
<h2>National Associations Lead Grassroots Campaigns</h2>
This grassroots approach has inspired EBAA to add the Association Village as a part of the new format for EBACE. It brings together the growing number of national associations from countries including France, Germany, Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Malta, Spain and the UK. IBAC is also part of this cluster, along with Women in Corporate Aviation and The Air Charter Association.
EBAA COO Robert Balthus cited the threat of reduced business aircraft access to Dublin Airport in the wake of a proposed reduction in the maximum number of passengers using the main terminal each year as a prime example of how local lobbying can be the most effective approach.
“This threatened to impact nonscheduled flights, like ours, and so we to be punished for [restrictions on] a building we’re not even using,” he told AIN. The Irish Business and General Aviation Association successfully led efforts to get the government to rethink its plans, with letters highlighting the economic impact on major events being hosted by Ireland such as the next Ryder Cup golf tournament.
Balthus praised the role of the British Business &amp; General Aviation Association in leading efforts to push back against night movement restrictions at London Luton Airport. He said airport capacity issues are becoming increasingly problematic for the industry, with a lack of understanding about its positive impact making it easy for politicians to disregard the sectors needs.
In the Netherlands, where he is based, the new Dutch business aviation group is facing a struggle over efforts to restrict access to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, supposedly in response to noise complaints. “Business aviation tends to only use one runway there and these movements result in zero complaints, unless there is a big storm and the same runway has to be used by larger airliners,” he said, explaining that his members effectively take the blame for noise they have not created.
Airport capacity is at a premium in many of Europe’s leading cities and Balthus said it would help if a certain number of slots could be “ring-fenced” for business aviation, as is the case at Geneva Airport. “Low-cost [airline] flights might bring in more money for the airport, but business aviation is better overall for the [economies of] the regions they serve, and that’s one of the key points we have to communicate,” he said.
The imperative for EBAA member companies to remain alert to new threats to their operations and business models has become all too clear from the impact of France’s “solidarity tax,” which has increased passenger tariffs by up to 300%. The <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-02-11/charter-flights-face-punitive-passenger-taxes-france">tax was imposed from March 1</a> and with very little warning to a charter sector that now views it as an existential threat.
“Even the French companies don’t fully understand how the tax works, and it has nothing to do with [funding] sustainability,” Balthus said. “The way it is being applied means they could come after other operators [from outside France].”
EBAA is now trying to mitigate the disruptive impact of EASA’s new Part IS digital security regulations on business aviation. As is so often the case in Europe, the rules were formulated with large airlines in mind and do not align well with all aspects nonscheduled operations.
Last year’s headaches with the way Polish officials enforced fines over <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2024-05-26/ebaa-cheers-polish-court-ruling-pax-name-enforcement">passenger name records</a> was another prime example of how the industry can be blindsided if it is not constantly vigilant. “No one, including the major airlines, was aware of how the Poles would apply these rules and it was only on the radar because one of our members warned us. So our members in Poland were the canary in the coal mine,” Balthus said.
<h2>Anti-tankering Policy is Anti-business Aviation&nbsp;</h2>
Fast forward to 2025, and EBAA is fighting another rearguard action to try to amend the disruption caused by the European Union’s rules intended to block the tankering of fuel for flights in and out of airports in its jurisdiction. EASA and the European Commission only consulted with two industry associations when drafting the rules, completely excluding business aviation.
“It’s completely bonkers, but we’re stuck with the anti-tankering rules for at least another year, and we need to be sure we can get this regulation back to what it was intended for,” Balthus concluded.
As it presses for the EU to refresh its more-than-a-decade-old aviation strategy, EBAA is making the case for a wider perspective on sustainability to encompass not just the industry’s efforts to decarbonize, but also socio-economic sustainability. This could play to business aviation’s strengths as a generator of wealth, investment and jobs, as evidenced by the recent <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-01-29/europes-economy-faces-big-hit-green-limits-bizav">Oxford Economics report</a> commissioned by EBAA and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
Business aviation continues to insist that it remains at the vanguard of efforts to reduce emissions through initiatives such as more efficient new aircraft and increased use of sustainable aviation fuel. “But some critical stakeholders don’t see us as part of the sustainability solution, so it is important that we drive the debate in a positive direction so that it is more balanced,” Krahmer said.
EBAA is telling members that more resources will be needed for this more complex role, which is reflected in the topics covered by the EBACE show conference program. Part of the financial commitment is covering the ongoing joint case being contested in the European Court of Justice by EBAA and Dassault Aviation to challenge the European Commission’s refusal to include business aviation in the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2023-10-15/business-aviation-groups-criticize-eu-green-investment">EU Taxonomy policy</a> that is an enabler of investment in environmental sustainability.
The court is still gathering legal arguments with EBAA pressing for a public hearing that Krahmer said could shine a light on what the group views as discrimination. A ruling is expected later this year.

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