Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

Arguably no industry was more affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, than the commercial aviation sector. The direct role played by airlines on that fateful day forever changed the industry's financial, economic, and operational dynamics. Recognizing this enormity, the U.S. government and European Commission enacted measures to mitigate some of the impacts of September 11. However, despite the inherent similarities between the European and the U.S. airline industries, the approaches ultimately undertaken by the U.S. government and European Commission were very different. While the U.S. government offered substantial short- and long-term aid, the European Commission provided extremely limited measures and instead encouraged European airlines to seek private restructuring alternatives.

This paper explores the differences between these approaches and attempts to, reconcile them with the cultural and restructuring attitudes of the United States and the European nations. It begins with a discussion of the effect of September 11 on the airline industry and the subsequent aid packages passed by the U.S. government and European Commission. Next, some explanations are offered for why the U.S. government and European Commission adopted such contrasting approaches. Following this, there is a discussion on the short-term and long-term effects the aid packages had on the airline industry. The paper concludes by advocating that the European Commission's approach was more desirable and should be used as the appropriate model going forward.

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