A study by airport trade body Airports Council International (ACI) Europe has found that Europe’s airports and the air connectivity are key strategic assets for the EU but a new EU deal is required to ensure decarbonisation goals are met.
Released to coincide with ACI Europe’s Airport Economics Symposium on 17 October, ACI’s study, titled ‘the Economic and Social Impact of European Airports and Air Connectivity’, also found that every 10% increase in direct air connectivity yields a 0.5% increase in GDP per capita and 1.6% increase in jobs.
One of the things that sets airports and the aviation ecosystem apart from most other sectors is their ability to facilitate and support wider economic activities. This results in “increased trade and productivity, along with greater investments, tourism activity and increased employment rates overall,” said Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe. He also emphasised that “airports and air connectivity are irreplaceable drivers of competitiveness for Europe.”
New EU aviation deal
Emphasising the need for a new EU aviation deal, Armando Brunini, president of ACI Europe and CEO of SEA Milan Airports said the study quantifies the extent to which airports and air connectivity are essential to the European way of life and prosperity.
“As such, there should be no doubt about their position as key strategic assets for the EU – in regard to both its competitiveness and the need to leave no one behind in the green transition,” he warned.
But when reality hits, he continued, it’s best described as the ‘great paradox’. Previously, aviation has been met with largely unsupportive and disjointed policies at EU and national levels, “in particular when it comes to decarbonisation – the mother of all our challenges – and infrastructure bottlenecks.”
Adding that this needs to change, Brunini emphasised the “urgent need for the EU to address is structural lack of competitiveness, so as to preserve its social model and deliver on its green ambitions.” To allow for that to happen, a new Aviation Deal for Europe is needed. “And that must start with including aviation within the Clean Industrial Deal that President von der Leyen is set to table early next year,” he continued.
Leyen’s deal will channel investment in the infrastructure and industry, in particular for energy-intensive sectors. Speaking at the European Parliament Plenary in July 2024, she noted: “For our young people, 2030, 2040, 2050 is around the corner. They know we have to reconcile climate protection with a prosperous economy.” For Brunini ensuring the aviation sector gets the right policy and financial support to decarbonise in ways that allow to safeguard its extensive economic and social benefits is integral to addressing that challenge.
