Europe faces airport crisis, claims study
January 19, 2006The European aviation industry is facing a crisis that can only be resolved through heavy investment in terminals and runways, according to a new study.
A report by Eurocontrol, a Belgian based organisation for the safety of air navigation, estimates that the number of air passengers travelling on European routes will double to 1.5 billion by 2020.
And they argue that airports will have to pull their socks up to cope with the extra demand.
It said all of the top 20 European airports would soon be "saturated" at peak time and called on airports to put more effort into expansion strategies "to prevent an increase in delays and to maintain Europe's excellent safety record".
Runway expansion is out of the question for many airports due to environmental or geographical limitations.
Instead the survey recommends that airports and airlines consider building facilities for larger aircraft able to handle more passengers without increasing runway slots, like BAA is currently doing at Heathrow.
It also said that airports could increase flight capacity by up to a third by investing in new taxiways.
The Times has reported that the programme would cost the industry $100 billion (£56.8 billion) over ten years, with costs likely to be passed on to airlines and – ultimately – air passengers.
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