The Situation of Airports

I found Willie Walsh’s latest outing about airports shocking, accusing them of indecently increasing their fares to compensate for the damage caused by COVID-19. I understand that it is not pleasant for airlines to have to pay more for the same services as before the pandemic, but the situation at airports must also be taken into account.

I note that carriers, especially the larger ones, have received massive aid from their respective governments, and this is very justified. When I talk about massive aid, a total of more than $100 billion has fallen into their coffers, which has allowed them to keep their heads above water. Not all companies have benefited from this assistance and some, the smallest, but not necessarily the most fragile, have had to fend for themselves. And to keep up, they were led to lay off massively while the big Europeans have roughly managed to get through this delicate period by keeping most of their staff.

But airports as a whole have not been treated with as much solicitude on the part of the authorities. Most did not receive any assistance. They are probably paying for the image of prosperity that was attached to them. Certainly the very large platforms have made comfortable profits over the last 10 prosperous years. And the shareholders, often the states themselves, have received serious dividends. So the recent period passed, roughly for the moment a year and a half of a farm reduced to more than 70%, has left them exhausted. They must rebuild their health. The prosperity of air transport as a whole is at stake.

I also note that they are essentially dependent on the strategies of the carriers, which can be very changeable. The example of Clermont-Ferrand airport is very illustrative in this respect. At the request of HOP, in other words air France, the airport was transformed to house an operation into a “hub”. This has led to very large investments that can only be amortized in twenty years. Except that the carrier has changed its priorities and decided to abandon the Auvergne connecting platform. And who will take into account the inevitable deficits that this measure has caused?

Environmental pressure is also a factor of uncertainty for airports. Arbitrary decisions, taken without any consultation by some governments to stop the air services that can be carried out, more or less wellmoreover,  by train in less than 2h30, but we are now talking about 4h00, or even more in some countries, lead to the ruin of these facilities often created at the request of carriers, or even governments themselves. The Union of French Airports has also launched an action with the European authorities to ensure that the sacrosanct right to move freely in Europe is respected, without imposing on customers the means of transport. One wonders, moreover, on what basis a State can free itself from European treaties such as the Open Sky established in 1988 and applied since 1992 with the so beneficial results attached to it.

I am not here to defend airports or carriers, I just want to see air transport not killed. But this is what is emerging insidiously and little by little. It therefore seems more than urgent that the actors of this formidable sector of activity stop tripping each other and that, on the contrary, they join forces to simply remind the public how essential it is not only to economic prosperity but that it is also an essential factor of peace. So, great gods, let the companies stop making war on airports, and let them consult with their users.

One thing is certain, air transport will have to cost more in the future. It will be necessary to pay for the necessary research to achieve a certain form of carbon neutrality. We are talking about several hundred billion dollars. It will not be enough to say that air transport produces only 2.5% or 3% of CO² emissions, it will be necessary to reduce them while maintaining the growth of traffic, because the populations need it.

Everyone has to get on with it. Travel agents must stop looking for the lowest prices that are far from covering cost prices, airports will be forced to improve their services and equipment, and carriers will have to stop promoting insane fares that only have the effect of attracting gogos in order to actually sell them much more expensive services than those advertised.

Internal wars must stop. The stakes are high