The “intermediate airports”, whose assistance is located between that of international airports and local aerodromes, suffer from a “structural fragility” amplified by their disaffection of travelers in favor of trains, points out a report by the Court of Auditors published this Thursday. These 41 “intermediate” airports, such as those of Rennes, Strasbourg or Montpellier, -of the 73 airports in metropolitan France in 2019- are particularly affected by the effects of French “airport decentralization” and investment inequalities depending on the territory , according to the Court of Accounts, which considers that “none of the public actors no longer has an overall vision” of the airport network.
These medium-sized airports, which “help open up isolated territories or serve well-connected regional cities” and are mostly owned by local authorities, received between 10,000 and 3 million commercial passengers in 2019, but were “weakened by the development of high-speed rail lines and the phasing out of the Air France group”, underlines this report.
Significant fixed costs
This situation has been accentuated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the rise of low-cost airlines and “awareness of the carbon footprint of air transport” among travelers and public actors, according to the Court. Therefore, an “adaptation” to the energy transition is necessary, taking into account the particularities of each airport, indicates the report, which recalls that “the plane emits on average almost 100 times more greenhouse gases per passenger transported than the TGV “, according to ADEME.
These “intermediate” airports also “face significant fixed costs”, particularly related to security, without benefiting from the same revenue as international airports. This forces them to resort to aid from local authorities for their development, analyzes the Court of Auditors, noting however that this aid is sometimes used to finance associations and “marketing” campaigns with low-cost companies, which have already been condemned by the European Union. Commission.
Therefore, the Court of Auditors recommends that the State review and harmonize the management of the French airport network, in particular by suggesting the creation of an “airport observatory” to provide an overview.
Source: BFM TV
