Blank flight plans, empty slopes, empty coffers. There, of all places, where many local politicians with lots of money, new Terminals and start-up high-flying plans of Railways wanted to realize, in these days of frustration and standstill: On Germany’s regional airports. Anyone who wants to start in September from the Kassel Calden airport in the world, has the choice between four destinations: Heraklion, Palma, Westerland and Mannheim. Days of the flight plan recorded not a single departure. On the flight plan of the Airport Erfurt-Weimar, it looks a little better.
For years, most of the small airports in Germany can only survive with huge subsidies. Now a new study makes it clear that, with the Corona-crisis regional airports, particularly under heavy pressure. Many depend on individual aviators cheap, whose business has shrunk because of the pandemic, massive.
The already incurred losses may therefore be even greater. This could be the existential Problem, concludes the paper, prepared by the Forum Ecological-social market economy for the environmental organization BUND. In the short-term existence was threatened seven of the studied 14 regional airports. In the medium term, this means even for twelve of the airports, which rely on substantial state aid, the. The study will be presented on Wednesday.
Chances of the paper gives the airports of Frankfurt-Hahn, Kassel-Calden, Niederrhein-Weeze, Paderborn/Lippstadt, Rostock-Laage, Erfurt and Saarbrücken.
The Corona-crisis, but it is only part of the problem. With 24 main airports, including regional airports, have been built in Germany in the air transport sector, with massive Overcapacity, says the paper. A maximum of 100 minutes to the major international airports of the country were from these locations. The offer Essentially the same set of flight objectives, and in addition, a comprehensive network to other destinations.
Stronger competition, tougher requirements of the policy would be. The EU had already decided in 2014 that with the settlement of operating losses through taxpayers ‘ money in 2024 final conclusion should be. This means that by 2024, the regional airports will need to find an economically viable business model.
Regional airports are economically not sustainable, not necessary, and the climate of concern
But this is not in many places in point of view. On The Contrary. The Boom of lots of flying subsides. Low-cost airlines to withdraw from the regional airports. So, Ryanair threatened with the withdrawal of the German airports Frankfurt-Hahn and Weeze. The study warns, with even more encouraging, however, to keep. So absurd claims of the airport associations costs “after the Acquisition of infrastructure” should be dismissed.
Also, the extension of the subsidisation of air traffic control for regional airports, which is currently in progress, must be stopped, it continues. The System of regional airports is economically unsustainable, not to meet demand, and climate policy concern. More useful is the regions to the rail network to connect. The authors call for the Federal airport concept and the Definition of only eight Airports that are really needed – a third of today’s number. For the Rest of the study, recommends that authors of alternative uses: In eligible commercial areas and technology parks were