Barcelona has hosted this week the annual summit of the Airports Council International (ACI), where more than 700 companies and managers of 2,000 aerodromes have discussed the challenge of decarbonisation in the sector. The general director of ACI in Europe, Olivier Jankovec, argues that the airline industry can combine its growth with the reduction of polluting gases that the new European legislation requires. The manager also supports the expansion of El Prat airport.
The Dutch government wants to reduce the activity of the Amsterdam airport, one of the largest in Europe, and cut flights to, among other things, reduce pollution.
In Europe there is currently great pressure on the aviation sector in relation to sustainability and decarbonisation. That a State decides to structurally reduce the capacity of a large airport like the one in Amsterdam is a very worrying precedent. We don’t understand it because the entire aviation ecosystem is working very hard to decarbonise. We now have a regulatory framework at European level that obliges us to do so. We have mandates for the use of sustainable aviation fuel by airlines and a tightening of the EU emissions trading scheme for companies. That means that starting in 2026, airlines will have to pay for every ton of CO2 they emit. So we have the complete strategy, policy and regulation to decarbonize aviation. It’s going to take some time, but we’re going to do it. Therefore, we do not see the need to apply drastic measures such as reducing capacity.
The French government has banned short flights with an alternative by train also to speed up decarbonization. Will this policy, if extended, affect regional airports, will they be expendable?
When looking at the evolution of the smaller regional airports, much of the traffic development has been on international routes within Europe and much less on domestic routes. So it makes sense to consider the complementarity between rail and aviation. Now, a regulation is not necessary to force this. When the train alternative works and is competitive, people don’t fly. There are many examples of it. There are no more flights between Paris and Brussels. Everyone takes the train for this journey. Between Brussels and Amsterdam, the only flight available is for KLM passengers who arrive by boat and then take an international route. Therefore, we do not see the need to impose this by regulation. It is necessary to encourage the railway sector to continue renewing itself, so that it is more competitive and becomes a viable and attractive alternative to air services on the shortest routes.
Will this trend mean that only airports focused on international flights have a future?
It is something that we are already seeing clearly. If we look at the development of the regional airport network, routes and traffic in the last ten years, it has been driven by low-cost airlines, and these companies have put those destinations, those regional airports, on the map. global thanks to international flights, not domestic ones.
There is a great debate in Catalonia about the possible expansion of the Barcelona airport. What do you think of the extension project in this context of decarbonization of the industry?
It depends on what the objectives are, what you want to achieve with that project. Catalonia has always had a very ambitious agenda to establish its position and its economy on a global scale. Developing air connectivity continues and will continue to be a fundamental factor for the development of the economy. For every 10% increase in direct air connectivity, you automatically have a 0.5% growth in GDP. Therefore, the correlation between the development of air connectivity and the development of the economy and support for employment is immediate. It is unquestionable. So I am a bit surprised by the refusal of Barcelona and Catalonia to accept this offer from Aena to invest and expand the airport.
In what situation will El Prat remain in Europe if it does not expand?
We are in a context in which we know that many airports in Europe are becoming congested. Those airports and therefore those cities and regions that can expand their intercontinental flight capacity will have a key competitive advantage for the future. In addition, many airports in Europe are finding it difficult to plan for investment due to the financial context and the legacy of the impact of the pandemic. On the other hand, in Barcelona they have an airport operator that is telling you: I am willing to invest 1,700 million euros. Today, there aren’t many airport operators willing to put that money on the table.
And the environmental impact?
Of course, it is a key element and it must be considered. I think Aena has done a tremendous job basically to more than offset this impact. It is necessary to find the balance to protect the environment, but at the same time give Barcelona and Catalonia the key competitive advantage for their future.
Last summer there was a great chaos in some of the largest European airports, such as Amsterdam, Heathrow or Frankfurt. What will happen this summer?
We are in a better situation because airports across Europe have worked to be better prepared. First, we have been able to hire more staff. In some markets, unemployment was very low last year and it was very difficult to attract staff. This has been solved with an increase in the wages of workers. We have done much more advanced preparation and planning with airlines, with air navigation service providers, and with police and border control. There is a greater operational alignment. In this sense, Spain last year did not have these problems. The biggest malfunctions were experienced at airports in the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Because?
The key reason why Spain avoided chaos was that during the pandemic there was significant support for Spanish companies, including Aena, to keep staff through ERTE and not have to lay off. The airports that struggled last summer in Europe are the ones that didn’t get much support from states to keep staff and carried out layoffs. That said, there are still challenges to solve.
As which?
The impact of the war in Ukraine on the capacity of the air traffic management system is still significant. That creates a lot of pressure in other areas of the airspace. And in terms of the labor market, more workers still need to be incorporated into the sector.
