Government takes a decision: Antwerp Airport remains open and may continue to grow (Economy)
Various politicians and action groups such as Vliegerplein would rather see Antwerp Airport disappear and a large green one take its place long before. Voka and other economic players are constantly stressing the importance of Antwerp’s own airport for the business world. Both camps have been trying for a long time to set out the paths for the Flemish government’s long-term vision for regional airports.
The discussions gained momentum in July when the results of a Social Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBA) obtained by the government were known. The study not only mapped commercial viability, but also welfare factors such as living environment and health. Overall, two opposing scenarios yielded the best results for Antwerp: a closure – which would achieve the greatest social added value in purely financial terms – or an ambitious growth with floating more flights.
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The Flemish government is now opting for a middle ground. The existence of the airport in Deurne is safeguarded until 2040. They can continue to focus on minimal further growth, within the limits of the environmental permit. In concrete terms, as a passenger airport, Antwerp Airport may expand the number of scheduled flights and further expand business aviation with private jets and small charters.
This year the airport clocked in at just over 240,000 passengers. A few days ago they expressed the ambition to reach 310,000 by 2025.
Greening
In the vision paper, Flanders also refers to making airports more environmentally friendly. “We want to focus strongly on sustainability and innovation,” emphasizes Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld). “For example, we are investigating whether it is feasible to diversify airport charges, for example based on noise and emissions.” Simply put: aircraft with high decibels and high CO2 emissions will have to pay more to fly at Antwerp Airport.
The Flemish government is also looking at new technological developments, such as the use of the sustainable aviation fuel SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) or the promotion of electric flying. Although in practice both alternatives are still in their infancy at the moment.
Cooperation Brussels Airport
One of the bases of the opponents are the red numbers of Antwerp Airport. The airport has been running at a loss for many years and cannot do without government support. Through a complex public-private construction, Flanders is the infrastructure manager of the airport (LOM) and the operation is in the hands of the private partner Egis (LEM). There are government subsidies for security and the fire service.
According to Minister Peeters, profitability must be improved “by optimizing business economic costs and decision-making”. One concrete proposal is making landing fees for business flights more expensive. One remote tower, one control tower that remotely supervises airport traffic for the three Flemish regional airports together, is also on the table. Although the Flemish government must first meet with the federal level authorized for air traffic control.
In addition, Flanders sees the benefit of an “operational and commercial cooperation” between Antwerp Airport and Brussels Airport, “undoubtedly a win-win situation for all parties”. Not only in the range of the offer, where Antwerp can profile itself with its business flights, for example, but also in possible synergies around management, maintenance or safety.
Master plans
The memorandum of the Flemish government approved on Friday is a long-term vision in often general statements. It must be included in concrete master plans by the autumn of 2023. They will certainly meet resistance. For example, the current environmental permit of Antwerp airport expires in June 2024 and Vliegerplein is already actively resisting a new permit. The Court of Appeal also has yet to rule on a complaint from the action group about possible construction violations.
The vision paper also relates to the two other Flemish regional airports. Ostend-Bruges may continue to concentrate on increasing passenger traffic and also focus on growth of the cargo market. The government sees a future for Kortrijk-Wevelgem as a business airport.