Emmanuelle Maire, Head of Unit for Airports & Infrastructures, European Commission, addressing delegates in Cagliari.
ACI EUROPE’s Regional Airports’ Forum 4th Annual Conference and Exhibition took place on 9-11 May just outside Cagliari, Sardinia. Kindly hosted by Cagliari Airport, and co-located with Routes Europe, the event brought together 150 delegates from regional airports, airlines, local and national authorities, the European Commission (EC) and ACI EUROPE World Business Partners, under the theme ‘Enhancing the competitive position of regional airports – key to survival and development’.
The theme was chosen in light of the difficult position that regional airports currently face – despite the acknowledged essential role they play for both regional and European economic growth, these airports are still obliged to comply with ‘one size fits all’ regulation, which recognises neither the extremely competitive market conditions they operate within, nor the corresponding cost considerations specific to their business models.
This reality informed many of the conference sessions, with airlines, airport associations and the leaders of various regional airports – including Marseille-Provence, Lyon-St Exupéry and Ostend-Bruges airports – all contributing their perspectives on the issue. Regional airport representatives were given the opportunity to address their concerns directly to the EC, with Head of Unit for Airports & Infrastructures Emmanuelle Maire both presenting the EC’s position, but also soliciting feedback from conference delegates.
The theme of the conference was further reinforced by ACI EUROPE’s subsequent press release, which highlighted the starkly differing traffic and financial situations being faced by different regional airports across Europe.
In addition conference delegates partook in a workshop on the application of ACI EUROPE’s Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Programme to regional airports – organised and led by ACI EUROPE Economic Research Analyst Teresa Ziober – and a tailored panel discussion on both operational and cost efficiencies, as well as the development of business opportunities for such airports. The conference was followed by the 13th meeting of the Regional Airports’ Forum, which saw the appointment of new Chair of the Regional Airports’ Forum, Tonci Peovic, Director of Zagreb Airport. The new Vice-Chair is Thomas Langeland, Director of Avinor’s Kristiansand Airport.
