Airports Council International (ACI) Europe president and Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte has called on the European Commission to deliver an aviation strategy that encourages investment and innovation while strengthening resilience and enabling decarbonization. The Commission’s strategy is expected later this year.
The ACI Europe president highlighted five key objectives:
Preserve and optimize airport capacity
Schulte said modernizing the ageing EU Slot Regulation system is crucial to making the most of existing capacity and better aligning with the connectivity needs of regions and local communities. “This is not just a technical issue. With airline consolidation advancing, slot reform is also the most important issue to safeguard the well-functioning and integrity of our single aviation market.”
Allow airports to invest and transform
Infrastructure investment has become a strategic EU priority. Europe’s airports are uniquely positioned to contribute, especially as airport investment is predominantly commercial and largely driven by private capital.
ACI Europe believes that the scale of the opportunity is significant, with Europe’s airport investment needs standing at €360bn over the coming decades – and with the top 10 European airports alone planning to invest €36bn in the next five years.
However, Schulte warned that a revision of the EU Airport Charges Directive would put these investments at risk: “To materialize, these investments require legal certainty and regulatory stability – as investors need confidence in a predictable framework to commit capital to long-term airport infrastructure projects. Revising the EU Airport Charges Directive would do exactly the opposite. It would open a Pandora’s box, leaving investors in the dark for several years. Preserving a stable regulatory environment is critical to ensuring airports can continue to deliver the infrastructure needed for Europe’s competitiveness.”
Safeguard regional air connectivity
ACI Europe wants to ensure that smaller regional airports can keep receiving operating and financing aid whenever necessary in order to preserve cohesion and territorial equality. The organization is calling for “urgent and significant amendments” to the draft state aid guidelines for aviation recently published by the European Commission.
Support innovation and resilience
Schulte pointed to the need for continued financial support for SESAR Research and Deployment within the next EU Financial Framework, so as to keep developing technologies boosting airport operational performance and integration with air traffic management. He also called for efficient and streamlined EU testing and certification of aviation security equipment as well as the removal of undue regulatory constraints to the deployment of biometrics at European airports.
Enable competitive decarbonization
Schulte reiterated the calls made by ACI Europe together with its Destination 2050 partners for more effective EU support fully aligned with the net zero ambition. He also referred to the earmarking of Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) revenues for aviation decarbonization, more sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) allowances under the ETS after 2030, an effective Book & Claim system for SAF and the full integration of airports into EU and national energy planning and grid upgrades. Conversely, he said that extending the ETS to all EU departing flights would further weaken European aviation and defy geopolitical realities.
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