Responding to the Commission’s public consultation, the association argued that the new framework governing both investment and operating aid for airports will have a significant impact on regional connectivity and economic resilience in the years ahead.
Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe, said: “By setting out the applicable regime for both investment and operating aid to airports, the new guidelines will largely shape air connectivity of our regions for years to come – and with it their attractiveness and economic resilience. At a time when territorial inequalities are growing and many citizens already feel disconnected from economic opportunity, weakening regional airports and the connectivity they enable would move Europe in the wrong direction. Yet, this is exactly what the Commission will end up doing if it goes ahead with these new guidelines as they stand today.”
“Regional airports are so much more than simply transport infrastructure. They are vital economic lifelines that connect communities to jobs, investment, tourism, public services and the wider European Single Market. Restricting the ability of Member States to support these airports would leave many regions more isolated, less competitive and ultimately less resilient.”
ACI Europe identified three areas of concern in the proposed framework.
The first relates to the proposed five-year limitation and new conditions for operating aid to airports handling between 500,000 and one million passengers annually. According to the association, the proposal does not reflect the economic realities faced by smaller regional airports, which continue to face challenges linked to diseconomies of scale, traffic seasonality, airline consolidation, market volatility and inflationary pressures.
ACI Europe noted that independent economic studies, including research commissioned by the European Commission, have documented these challenges and questioned why the draft guidelines do not reflect those findings.
The second concern involves the proposed removal of investment aid for airports handling more than three million passengers annually, alongside new conditions for airports below that threshold. The association stated that many medium-sized regional airports continue to require substantial investment to modernise infrastructure, improve safety, security and cybersecurity, support decarbonisation and climate adaptation efforts, optimise capacity and comply with regulatory requirements.
According to ACI Europe, maintaining access to investment aid for airports handling up to five million passengers remains essential given the long-term nature of these investments and the challenges associated with securing private financing.
The third issue highlighted by the association is the proposed elimination of start-up aid for airlines launching new routes. ACI EUROPE argued that such support plays an important role in helping regions attract new air services and diversify their connectivity networks.
Jankovec concluded: “The future State aid framework must be grounded in economic and market realities and support the crucial role regional airports play in maintaining territorial cohesion and economic competitiveness. A framework that makes it harder to sustain regional airports – or forces some of them to close – would only damage local economies and weaken the Single Market. It would also reinforce perceptions that the EU is turning its back on its regions. At a time when we need to strengthen cohesion and public trust, this is simply a risk the EU cannot afford to take.”