Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company and member of the Board of ACI EUROPE; Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE; Augustin de Romanet, President of ACI EUROPE and President & CEO of Aéroports de Paris; Violeta Bulc, EU Transport Commissioner; and Armando Brunini, CEO of Aeroporto di Napoli and member of the Board of ACI EUROPE.
In view of the expected adoption of the new EU Aviation Package on 2 December, Augustin de Romanet, President of ACI EUROPE and President & CEO of Aéroports de Paris, met again with Violeta Bulc, the EU Transport Commissioner on 15 October. He was accompanied by Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company, and Armando Brunini, CEO of Aeroporto di Napoli – both members of the Board of ACI EUROPE.
The 3 CEOs underlined ACI EUROPE’s support for the EC’s initiative to implement a new Aviation Package, as part of its new political priorities focused on “Jobs, Growth and Investment”, and stressed the need to ensure the strategic competitiveness of the aviation sector. In particular, they advocated that the new Aviation Package should focus on air connectivity, consumers and the economy. All of which is supported by one of the key findings of the ACI EUROPE Economic Impact of European Airports, conducted by InterVISTAS: +10% increase in connectivity is associated with +0.5% increase in GDP per capita.
Commissioner Bulc received the 3 CEOs warmly and spoke of how constructively many of Europe’s airports had engaged with her team during the previous months. The ensuing discussion included exchanges on airport capacity, safety, Open Skies, the Single European Sky and airport charges.
Augustin de Romanet summarised the urgency of the moment: “The Aviation Package is a unique opportunity to reset aviation policy with a strong focus on connectivity, consumers and the economy. The issues that need to be addressed are many, starting from our license to grow and the looming airport capacity crunch. They also include scrapping heavy and unfair national aviation taxes, securing access to emerging markets through Open Skies, delivering the Single European Sky and reducing regulatory cost inefficiencies – in particular within aviation security.”
On the occasion of meeting, the 3 CEOs also presented Commissioner Bulc with a specially designed poster, featuring key route development campaigns from more than 20 airport operators all over Europe. The #AirportsCompete poster was produced by ACI EUROPE and the Commissioner was delighted with it. The diversity and enthusiastic marketing efforts on display in the poster serve as a reminder of just how much market power many of Europe’s key airlines have, when negotiating airport charges with European airports.
ACI EUROPE organises State Aid workshop with Mayer Brown
On 12 November ACI EUROPE organised a special workshop on the implementation of the EU’s State Aid Rules for aviation and airports in particular. The workshop took place at their offices in Brussels, in cooperation with international law firm Mayer Brown. 55 representatives from airports all over Europe participated. Following on from the publication of new State Aid Guidelines by the European Commission (EC) last year, the workshop was designed to provide a better understanding of the issue, as well as practical guidance on how airports can comply with the new rules.
With this in mind, as well as providing legal knowledge and insights, the day included a special ‘break out’ working session, focusing on the technical challenges associated with securing operating aid. In particular, economic and financial consultants Oxera and AlixPartners provided practical guidance on how airports should put together 10-year business plans, and produce robust traffic forecasts.
100th meeting of Board of ACI EUROPE
Marking the 100th meeting of the Board of ACI EUROPE, which took place in October, are (left to right): Robert Deillon, Treasurer of ACI EUROPE and CEO of Geneva Airport; Arnaud Feist, Immediate Past President of ACI EUROPE and CEO of Brussels Airport; Dr Michael Kerkloh, CEO of Munich Airport; Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE; and Augustin de Romanet, President of ACI EUROPE and President & CEO of Aéroports de Paris.
