Under the theme “Navigating Change”, Europe’s regional airport community have been busy discussing changing market conditions and existential challenges at this year’s Airports Council International (ACI) Europe Regional Airports Conference and Exhibition (RACE), which was hosted by Dubrovnik’s Ruder Boskovic Airport in Croatia.
ACI Europe’s Deputy Director General, Morgan Foulkes, opened the conference stating that while larger regional airports have generally continued outperforming the European average for passenger traffic this year. “We have barely turned a corner on COVID, but its aftermath is here to stay in the guise of new market dynamics keeping a tight grip on regional airports,” Foulkes said.
Telling Europe’s larger regional airports to prepare for a “bullish summer” in terms of airline seats, he noted that smaller regional airports are also worse off in terms of airline seats with carriers not putting seats into those markets. “Ryanair, Wizz Air, Pegasus and Jet2 are all adding capacity. However, supply chain challenges will result in a downsizing of operations for other carriers. Highlighting that strikes, ATM capacity, disruptive weather and the implementation of the Schengen Entry/ Exit System (EES) remain pain points for Europe’s airport community,” Foulkes said.
He also stated that sustainability remains at the forefront of the airport agenda, but the focus is also on macro-economic tensions and uncertainties due to supply side pressures and bottlenecks as well as increased geopolitical risks and fragmentation. Massive debt load across the global airport community is another dominant focus, after airports decreased charges during COVID to help airlines, but have not increased them since in line with inflation. Regional airports in particular are also struggling when it comes to non-aeronautical revenues, stated Foulkes, but with geopolitical tensions an ongoing concern they need to remain dynamic and flexible when it comes to alternative revenue streams.
Panellists discussed how electric/ hybrid aircraft will redefine regional connectivity, with Pim Meyboom, Senior Project Manager for NACO revealing that airports frequently ask how they should be preparing for the future.
“The additional weight of hybrid and electric aircraft will also mean that some airports will need to extend their runways, while for others the power infrastructure is not sufficient to support the recharging requirements of these flights so that all has to be addressed.” commented Meyboom.
Kata Cserep, Global Aviation Lead at PA Consulting led a panel discussing how to get SAF at regional airports, with the lack of supply, as well as the high cost and challenges with transporting the fuel in an environmentally friendly way all hindering the wider adoption of SAF.
Simon Dreschel, Executive Chairman and Manaing Director at Bordeaux Airport revealed that his airport is working with Total Energie to create a local SAF supply chain. “The SAF molecules are transported by boat to Bordeaux, where it is blended at the port and transported the last leg of its journey by truck. We have SAF in our tanks, but the problem we have is that the commercial carriers aren’t uplifting it.”
Groningen Airport Eelde, the first hydrogen valley airport in Europe shared its vision for what future airports with hydrogen refuelling capabilities could look like. CEO, Meiltje de Groot urged national and European government to get behind these projects not just in terms of funding, but also in securing the necessary certification and regulations around hydrogen or alternative fuelling
