Statistical returns in respect of carriage of passengers, freight and mail by air

OBJECTIVE: The proposal for a regulation aims to improve the comparability and coherence, at Community level, of statistics in the field of air transport. SUBSTANCE: - Collection of reliable, regular, updated, harmonized and comparable statistical data on the carriage of passengers, freight and mail by air, and on aircraft movements both within the Community and between the EC and third countries, with a view to the preparation of quarterly and annual statistics on air-transport operators using Community airports. Member States are to be responsible for collecting the information and for applying the appropriate methodology; - Dissemination of Community statistical data to national administrations and access to data on the air transport market for EC airports and for air transport operators; - Member States are able to exclude very small airports from the scope of the regulation and can request that slightly larger airports which meet certain conditions only have to submit summary annual statistics. �