Report German Gov’t. Seeks Two Month Extension for Airline Terrorist Coverage

Germany’s newly reelected government has reportedly asked the European Commission (EC) for permission to extend emergency terrorist risk coverage to the country’s airlines until the end of the year.

The EC announced last August, when it granted a further extension to EU members to provide the coverage, that it would not extend the deadline another time. The permission, put in place after the Sept. 11 attacks, has been renewed several times since then, but the EC recently reaffirmed that Thursday, October 31 is the final cut off date.

However, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswire, an official from the Ministry of Transport indicated that the government will extend terrorist and war risk coverage until December 31, and will seek the EC’s permission to do so. The official said this would be the last such request.

The EC’s permission is required as it has temporarily suspended EU rules on competition and state assistance to allow governments to aid their airlines by granting them the right to provide emergency coverage, which is either unavailable, or deemed too expensive.

The EC’s announcement that such permission would end on Thursday, also indicated that the private sector now provided such coverage, and that the airlines were in the process of establishing “Eurotime,” an industry-owned risk retention group, similar to “Equitime,” in the U.S. to accept terrorist risk coverage.