Bringing the Regional airports to Reykjavik

Kristiansand Airport

Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE; Alberto Martín Rodriguez, Director, Gran Canaria Airport, and new Chair of ACI EUROPE’s Regional Airports’ Forum; and Thomas Langeland, outgoing Chair of the Forum, and Airport Director, Kristiansand Airport.

8th ACI EUROPE Regional Airports’ Conference & Exhibition, Reykjavik, 18-20 May. Report by Inês Rebelo.

On 18-20 May, Europe’s regional airports gathered in Reykjavik for the 8th ACI EUROPE Regional Airports’ Forum and Conference, kindly hosted by Isavia and Keflavik Airport. With an attendance of over 175 participants from airports, airlines, industry suppliers and institutional stakeholders, this year’s event was devoted to the theme ‘Innovate, Sustain & Compete’ – three challenges that European regional airports have to face in order to keep growing and improving their services. Considering Keflavik Airport’s increasing number of passengers (3.8 million in 2014) and its fast-growing position as a strategic hub in the Atlantic, Reykjavik was, undoubtedly, the perfect location to discuss how regional airports need to innovate, sustain and compete.

Regional airports conference

The conference was honoured by the presence of Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, the President of Iceland, who gave an inspiring speech on the pivotal contribution of the airport industry to the local and global economies.

The two-day conference represented a good platform for European regional airports to assert their vital role in Europe’s airport industry – particularly in fostering social cohesion and boosting economic development – as well as to call for more aviation liberalisation. On this note, regional airports emphasised that more liberalisation would boost their connectivity and diversify their traffic mix, while at the same time it would generate more and better business for their communities.
The conference was also a fruitful moment for regional airports to network with business partners and find additional innovative solutions to enhance thequality of their services. A unique event for delegates to network in a more informal way was also organised in the memorable setting of the Blue Lagoon (literally, in the waters of the Lagoon!). This networking opportunity took place right before the Gala Dinner, where delegates dined on the best of Icelandic gastronomy.

Regional airports conference

There were over 175 participants from airports, airlines, industry suppliers and institutional stakeholders, with this year’s event devoted to the theme ‘Innovate, Sustain & Compete’ – three challenges that European regional airports have to face in order to keep growing and improving their services.

Over the two-day conference, a line-up of top industry speakers took the stage to focus the debate on relevant topics to the future of regional airports, including their economic sustainability, the increase in their airport connectivity and air passenger traffic, as well as strategies for route development. From the strategies adopted by Isavia to increase Keflavik Airport’s connectivity to the ways technology is improving the passenger experience and boosting non-aeronautical revenues, the conference provided ample room for exchanging ideas and practices on improving air connectivity and business performance at regional airports.
ACI EUROPE Director General Olivier Jankovec gave a presentation on the state of Europe’s regional airports, underlining that regional airports are now on a traffic recovery path, albeit a slow one due to tough trading conditions, with a traffic growth rate of +5.1% since the beginning of the year. Jankovec also reminded us that ‘’every 10% increase in air connectivity results in +0.5% increase in GDP’’ but, looking ahead, regional connectivity will also be dependent on how fuel-efficient regional aircraft will be able to be.

The conference was honoured by the presence of Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, the President of Iceland, who gave an inspiring speech on the pivotal contribution of the airport industry to the local and global economies. He made it plain: “The measure of our role in the global economy is defined by the quality of our airports.”

The prelude: Regional Airports’ Forum meeting

Regional airports connectivity

Regional airports emphasised that more liberalisation would boost their connectivity and diversify their traffic mix, while at the same time it would generate more and better business for their communities.

Preceding the conference, on 18 May, ACI EUROPE’s Regional Airports’ Forum held its 21st meeting, where it presented and discussed its new Analysis Paper on the Factors Influencing Economic Sustainability of Small Regional Airports, the main results of which were announced by Thomas Langeland, Chair of the Forum and Airport Director, Kristiansand Airport, on the first day of the conference. Amongst the key findings of this Paper, size is considered to be a determining factor of the profitability of regional airports. 66% of airports with less than 5 million passengers are loss-making, with that percentage increasing to 77% for those with less than 1 million passengers. Also, the implementation of cargo-related charges is essential for operational profit and should be taken into consideration once the connectivity increases. Another conclusion is that more outsourcing is associated with better profitability and limited exposure to ground handling operations will help smaller airports avoid loss-making activities.

Blue lagoon

A unique event for delegates to network in a more informal way was organised in the memorable setting of the Blue Lagoon (literally, in the waters of the Lagoon!).

Stepping down from his two-year term as Chair of ACI EUROPE’s Regional Airports’ Forum, Thomas Langeland has now been succeeded by Alberto Martín Rodriguez, Director, Gran Canaria Airport, as the new Chair of the Forum, and Henri Hansson, Senior Vice President, Finavia, as its Vice-Chair.

See you next year?

Regional airports networking

The conference was a fruitful moment for regional airports to network with business partners and find additional innovative solutions to enhance the quality of their services. Networking opportunities included the Gala Dinner, where delegates dined on the best of Icelandic gastronomy.

With an original video and audience smartphone interactive game on some cultural facts about Lithuania, Lithuanian Airports announced that it will host next year’s ACI EUROPE Regional Airports’ Forum and Conference in Vilnius on 11-13 May 2016. It is time to mark the date in your diary!


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