- November 26, 2007, 12:32 PM
Growth among small airports serving metropolitan cities has slowed from the vigorous rates seen in the early 1990s, according to statistics from the City Centre Airports Association (CCAA). While this industry typically enjoyed double-digit expansion before mid-decade, passenger numbers moving through CCAA member airports has become much more stable in the past five years.
The phenomenon stems largely from increased environmental pressures and a general lack of sector expansion after a period in which such enterprises grew in popularity, particularly in Europe (see table below). CCAA comprises 10 city-based operations, but has seen its membership ebb and flow since the trade group was formed in 1993. For example, some 14 such airports have belonged to the association at different times.
Four CCAA members–Bern Belp (in Switzerland), Florence (Italy), London City (UK), and Rotterdam (Netherlands)–have boasted annual gains in traffic since 1993. After growth in the early period, traffic at Belfast City (UK) stabilized at 1.3 million passengers annually, but following construction of a new terminal and transfer of services from the main Northern Ireland airport it expects to see further increases. Stockholm Bromma, the Swedish capital’s main airport before Arlanda was built, has seen little increase in the past two years, with traffic levels remaining close to one million.
Suffering a downturn in the past two or three years have been Berlin Tempelhof (another former major airport) and Gothenburg City (Sweden), the latter now a shadow of its former self, with numbers last year less than 20 percent of those seen three years earlier. Germany’s Monchengladbach, which operates as Dusseldorf Express, has not maintained the strong growth that characterized its first four years, with traffic down by a third last year, according to the unqualified CCAA statistics.
The member airports, which saw an almost 5-percent overall growth rate last year and an increase of more than 45 percent over the past five years, are currently in the throes of change as they consider relationships with other industry groups.
Association Seeks Stronger ERA Ties
An initiative to move closer to the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) has, at least for the moment, not moved forward. While the ERA counts a number of airports among its associate member, the two groups have not reached agreement on a suggested reciprocal arrangement. “We proposed to ERA that we would be members of each other’s organizations, but ERA was not ready for this,” claimed CCAA secretary general Bjorn Rotsman.
The recruitment of Split Airport (on the Adriatic coast) and Gothenburg City in the past 12 months marks a successful membership campaign, and CCAA remains optimistic about further growth. Rotsman aspires to establish a U.S. chapter within the group, but acknowledges that attempts to attract city airport operators in Australia have failed.
Following its annual conference in Florence this summer, the association appointed Monchengladbach’s Hartmut-Rudiger Simon as chairman, replacing London City managing director Richard Goodman. One resolution arising from that meeting was a decision to make membership more attractive to smaller airports. As a result of the recruitment drive Rotsman conceded that CCAA “needs to do something about our membership fees.”
Environmental Issues Paramount
The secretary general told AIN that almost all the main issues facing city airports relate to environment considerations: noise, emissions and the ability of aircraft to perform steep approaches and operate from short runways. The CCAA has as its primary goal partnerships with airframe and engine manufacturers to ensure aircraft meet city airport environmental requirements: “We are starting to make progress, but it seems that things start to happen [only] when airlines put money behind [research and development],” said Rotsman, who recognizes that he needs to represent a larger constituency of members. “The more airports, the more power we have to create change.”
Secondly, the group is working to encourage an increase of knowledge and experience among members beyond that available through the larger Airports Council International, which represents the interests of all airports worldwide. Indeed, Rotsman claims that city airports are often at the leading edge of developments because their proximity to local communities can mean that such operators face environmental pressures “several years” before major hubs.
The phenomenon stems largely from increased environmental pressures and a general lack of sector expansion after a period in which such enterprises grew in popularity, particularly in Europe (see table below). CCAA comprises 10 city-based operations, but has seen its membership ebb and flow since the trade group was formed in 1993. For example, some 14 such airports have belonged to the association at different times.
Four CCAA members–Bern Belp (in Switzerland), Florence (Italy), London City (UK), and Rotterdam (Netherlands)–have boasted annual gains in traffic since 1993. After growth in the early period, traffic at Belfast City (UK) stabilized at 1.3 million passengers annually, but following construction of a new terminal and transfer of services from the main Northern Ireland airport it expects to see further increases. Stockholm Bromma, the Swedish capital’s main airport before Arlanda was built, has seen little increase in the past two years, with traffic levels remaining close to one million.
Suffering a downturn in the past two or three years have been Berlin Tempelhof (another former major airport) and Gothenburg City (Sweden), the latter now a shadow of its former self, with numbers last year less than 20 percent of those seen three years earlier. Germany’s Monchengladbach, which operates as Dusseldorf Express, has not maintained the strong growth that characterized its first four years, with traffic down by a third last year, according to the unqualified CCAA statistics.
The member airports, which saw an almost 5-percent overall growth rate last year and an increase of more than 45 percent over the past five years, are currently in the throes of change as they consider relationships with other industry groups.
Association Seeks Stronger ERA Ties
An initiative to move closer to the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) has, at least for the moment, not moved forward. While the ERA counts a number of airports among its associate member, the two groups have not reached agreement on a suggested reciprocal arrangement. “We proposed to ERA that we would be members of each other’s organizations, but ERA was not ready for this,” claimed CCAA secretary general Bjorn Rotsman.
The recruitment of Split Airport (on the Adriatic coast) and Gothenburg City in the past 12 months marks a successful membership campaign, and CCAA remains optimistic about further growth. Rotsman aspires to establish a U.S. chapter within the group, but acknowledges that attempts to attract city airport operators in Australia have failed.
Following its annual conference in Florence this summer, the association appointed Monchengladbach’s Hartmut-Rudiger Simon as chairman, replacing London City managing director Richard Goodman. One resolution arising from that meeting was a decision to make membership more attractive to smaller airports. As a result of the recruitment drive Rotsman conceded that CCAA “needs to do something about our membership fees.”
Environmental Issues Paramount
The secretary general told AIN that almost all the main issues facing city airports relate to environment considerations: noise, emissions and the ability of aircraft to perform steep approaches and operate from short runways. The CCAA has as its primary goal partnerships with airframe and engine manufacturers to ensure aircraft meet city airport environmental requirements: “We are starting to make progress, but it seems that things start to happen [only] when airlines put money behind [research and development],” said Rotsman, who recognizes that he needs to represent a larger constituency of members. “The more airports, the more power we have to create change.”
Secondly, the group is working to encourage an increase of knowledge and experience among members beyond that available through the larger Airports Council International, which represents the interests of all airports worldwide. Indeed, Rotsman claims that city airports are often at the leading edge of developments because their proximity to local communities can mean that such operators face environmental pressures “several years” before major hubs.
