Frederik Sorensen


Mr. Frederik Sørensen is special aviation counsel to Stanbrook & Hooper located in Brussels. He is also advising on regulatory matters in particular in Africa as an expert for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and for European airports on relevant EU legislative proposals such as on slot allocation.

In 1977 Mr. Sørensen was nominated as head of the then created air transport division at the European Commission. The task of the division was to develop air transport policies for the EU. In this context he has developed a substantial number of regulations for the European Union in particular with a view to liberalize air transport and thereby ensure that air carriers would be able to take and be responsible for normal commercial decisions. In fact he is considered by many to be the father of European air transport liberalization. In addition he has developed legislation in associated key areas such as passenger rights, CRS and slot allocation. His tasks included not only the drafting of the new legislation but also the subsequent enforcement of these regulations. This has made him an acknowledged expert in aviation regulatory matters. Mr. Sørensen has also been active in developing and negotiating multilateral aviation agreements. He has accomplished the negotiation of a multilateral agreement on a European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) and he has developed drafts of a Transatlantic Common Aviation Area (TCAA). He retired in October 2001 from the Commission.

Mr. Sørensen received a Ph.D. in transport economics from the University of Copenhagen in 1962.