A new report by the Airports Council International (ACI Europe) has revealed that regional airports have continued to perform positively since the start of the year, recovering almost 93 per cent of their pre-pandemic passenger volumes compared to 87 per cent for hubs and other larger airports. Director Jankovec also revealed that during the last three years and today the user fees set by the regional airports have been continuously reduced. In addition, research provided by Oxera7 shows that passenger demand at regional airports will drop by close to 20 per cent, inevitably compromising the connectivity they provide to their communities. According to ACI Europe Regional Airport Forum Chairman and Innsbruck Airport CEO Marco Pernetta, regional airports now account for 35 per cent of total direct air connectivity in Europe, up from 29 per cent ten years ago. At the same time, he emphasized that a European strategy regarding sustainable regional air connectivity is needed, which ensures that regional aviation quickly becomes the test bed for decarbonisation of aviation.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 27, 2023 02:47 UTC