Moving on up: Airport expansion around Europe

With air traffic continuing to increase, and set to do so in the future, it is inevitable that airports around Europe will need to expand to accommodate the needs of would-be passengers. The demand for air travel in Europe increased three-fold between 1980 and 2000, and is set to double by 2020. Whilst governments and air transport authorities see expansion as beneficial for the economy, generating revenue from tourism and attracting business, environmental groups are strongly opposed arguing that the pollution, damage to the environment and noise associated is avoidable. Despite this, it seems expansion is necessary for future generations to have the choice to travel and enjoy the freedom flying can bring. As highlighted by the Airports Council International (ACI) “To ensure that everyone benefits from air transport in the future, the necessary infrastructure investments must be decided today to guarantee tomorrow's expected growth.

Growth in aviation has been particularly strong in some of the countries that joined the EU in May 2004. Since EU expansion the accession countries have seized opportunities in the aviation industry. As a consequence of enlargement tourism has been drastically boosted and the expansion of low-cost airlines to and from the regions in the central and eastern area has also taken off. Before 2004, the number of airlines flying to these destinations was restricted. To cope with the extra demand, airports have been expanding, often with private finance. Airports upgraded to deal with the increase in traffic include Prague Ruzyne, which opened a new north terminal at the beginning of the year. Passenger numbers at the airport have been steadily climbing since 2004 rising 14 percent in the year since May 2005 alone. A new terminal is also under construction at Warsaw’s Frederic Chopin Airport, which will offer a capacity of 6.5 million travellers annually. Also expanding is Riga International airport in Latvia where a new north terminal is being built to meet the increase of passengers. In 2004 passenger numbers went up by 49 percent and rose again by a whopping 77 percent in 2005. The emergence of low-cost airlines has again been the impetus for the enormous growth in passenger numbers.

“The 2004 expansion was a one-off event for the airlines of the countries concerned, and occurred at a period when the industry was suffering the consequences of severe external shocks,” says Francoise Humbert at the Association of European Airlines. “A new element was the ability for entrepreneurs to start up from zero, adopting no-frill business models which they had seen functioning successfully elsewhere in Europe. Some of the resulting airlines are on the way to becoming established players, others have failed. The incumbent airlines have had to carry with them the legacy of their former structures. Most or all have been successful in building brands which are much stronger than they were pre-2004.”

Despite this new found prosperity the overhanging shadow of their former regimes has hindered development in some areas particularly airports which have been slow in ridding themselves of former state-controlled bureaucratic attitudes. There have already also been some casualties of the boom including Air Polonia, which was the first privately owned low-cost airline in Poland. After finding itself in financial difficulties the company ceased operations in December 2004.

Expansion plans also prevail around many other European airports. One of these is Frankfurt, Europe’s second largest airport where expansion plans include the construction of a new landing runaway, a third passenger terminal (Terminal 3), and a new maintenance hanger for the new A380 long-haul wide body aircraft.

Birmingham airport also has major expansion plans in the pipeline. The first phase of the development plan is to extend the length of the existing runway. Currently the runaway makes it possible to cater a full service across Europe to the East Coast of the US and to the Middle Eastern gulf areas, but it restricts the ability of fully laden aircraft to fly to the growing market of China, to the Asian sub-continent or to the West Coast of the US. The intention is to be able to serve all these global markets by 2012. This single runaway, even when extended, will be at full capacity by about 2020, therefore longer term plans are set to include the building of a second runaway (at least 15 years away) which will provide the airport with more peak hour capacity to get flights out to the important business destinations around the world. Other major expansion work is also set to take place at Heathrow, Stanstead, Dublin, Barcelona El Prat.

Opposition to expansion is usually fierce due to concerns over the damage to the environment building new airports or expanding existing airports may bring. The proposals for the building of third runaway at Heathrow airport have been met with contempt, with local residents and opposition groups claiming that the third runaway would bring much more noise and pollution to the area. There was much outcry last year when BAA, the owner of Heathrow airport published its plans to demolish up to 700 homes to make way for the runaway and a possibly a sixth terminal.

Out of space

Lack of suitable space is now a huge problem for many of Europe’s airports. For example, Frankfurt and Schipol (Amsterdam), despite being very popular hubs in Europe have limited space for future expansion. Heathrow, Frankfurt and Schipol all have runaways that are too short or are situated too close together. These are just some of the problems associated with expansion. “Planning is a major issue as is finding enough area and resources,” explains Alan Griffith, Regional Director of Cyril Sweet a construction consultancy who are currently working on the new terminal at Farnborough, and are also employed as independent verifier by the Department of Transport in Dublin for Terminal 2. “One of the biggest driving forces is the land take-up because it isn’t just the airport, there is the land necessary for support facilities and services such as off site services, warehousing, transport links and communication. In the UK there are very few places where you can get transport, land resources and employment all in one location. Regional airports are linked to major conurbations where there are major planning issues. It does beg the question ‘how much longer can you go on’ expanding existing airports.”

Going up in smoke

Many ideas about the impact of air travel and the pollution it causes are misconceived. For instance, the public believes that aeroplanes cause a high percentage of world CO2 emissions when in fact if all European fleet were grounded then world CO2 emissions would only go down by 0.5 percent. The industry has taken significant measure to reduce the environmental impact over the years. “There is no denying that planes are noisy and they pump out some rather unpleasant things – this is inescapable,” says Chris Goater, Head of Media and Public Affairs at the Airport Operators Association. “What we can say is that we’ve made huge improvements over time. The quality of engines has vastly improved and the number of people being caught in noise contours has declined. We have tough limits and targets on new aircraft design and how they are operated, which will continue to reduce the impact. Clearly this is a huge problem, which has also been joined by climate change issues. The environmental issues surrounding aviation are complicated because an international agreement prevents the taxation of aircraft fuel. Therefore, we have to consider things like emissions trading and carbon offsetting.”

Today’s aircraft are 70 percent more fuel efficient than the jets of the 1960s. Modern technology is also ensuring that planes in the future will contribute minimum amounts of pollution to the environment. “Aircraft and engine manufacturers are working harder than ever to produce ‘greener’ aircraft with far smaller environmental impact than previous generations,” enthuses Humbert. “Airlines are preparing to invest in this new technology, but need a sound financial base from which to do so – one which is not threatened by heavy-handed regulatory action.”

Although noise is a serious irritability for people that live on flight paths, aircraft today are typically 75 percent quieter than the first jets were when they were introduced. Birmingham is one airport that has been taking measures to mitigate noise pollution in preparation for its second runaway. “In terms of the second runway, this wouldn’t be used at all at night,” says Richard Heard, Managing Director, Birmingham Airport. “There wouldn’t be a demand for two runways at night and we would certainly cap any demand and not use it at night. We’ve also said that as soon as the second runway is built by 2020 we will only use it for the new generation of modern aircraft. Aircraft manufacturers have targets to reduce the noise level of aircraft by at least 50 percent by then and also to reduce emissions and fuel burn. So by 2020 the new aircraft coming onto the market will be significantly more environmentally friendly.”

Despite measures being taken, there will always be more that can be done. “We don’t deny that aviation has an impact – the questions is what is the best way to mitigate the impact and preserve the benefits of air travel,” says Goater. “We believe that with emissions trading, offsetting and technological improvement we can strike this balance. We can also do more to encourage best practice amongst our airports in terms of environmental management.”

Although there are concerns about the environmental impact, expansion can greatly benefit a local community offering employment, increased prosperity due to tourism, growth for the local economy and provides excellent transportation infrastructure. The building of a new airport is also accompanied by the arrival of other industries attracted to the area – creating an overall ‘ripple’ effect. “There are a number a number of surveys around the world, in qualitative terms, that demonstrate that new, growing, modern industries and inward investment is very reliant on there being a well connected airport,” enthuses Heard.

Currently Birmingham airport supports around 11,000 jobs, which will increase to about 27,000 by 2030. The airport contributes directly around £200 million to the economy –this is likely to increase to a billion by 2030. “Air transport is fundamental to European mobility, prosperity and political cohesion,” argues Francoise Humbert at the Association of European Airlines. “The liberalization of air transport has brought efficiency, customer choice and lower prices, driving market growth. It is essential that infrastructure capacity keeps in step.”

The rejuvenation of an area is a major driving force when it comes to airport expansion. Birmingham has undergone a massive revamp in the last few years, attracting tourists and commerce to the area. “The Midlands area of the UK is very much going through a renaissance from its manufacturing background,” identifies Heard.” Modern industries such as pharmaceutical, IT and the service sectors are developing. It’s these types of markets and commerce that need international connections. We also have two major Universities, both key drivers of change, which also rely on international connections. So really, the airport supports the growth of the region and its economy, but it’s really underpinning what the region has done.”

Birmingham airport is now a viable alternative to the London airports. “For far too long the region has relied on London and south-east airports which aren’t really sustainable solutions. These don’t serve the Midlands’ needs, it drives unnecessary and unsustainable surface access trips from the Midlands to London. The south-east airports are themselves over congested and fundamentally we need to serve the demand where it arises which is in the Midlands.”

Going local

Looking to the future, likely expansion trends are likely to revolve around the development of regional airports. “One of the big changes in the last ten years is that regional airports have started to expand faster than the traditional hub airports like Heathrow and Frankfurt,” says Goater. “This has been driven by low-cost aircraft needing to fly to smaller airports where they can turn their aircraft around faster and the charges are lower. There is considerable slack in the market and more growth to be had. We’ll see many of these smaller airports grow.”

Along with the growth of regional airports, Goater also predicts continued growth in the Eastern Europe region. “I think we’ll also see the opportunities to expand to lower income areas in Europe, particularly in the East, which have not caught up with Western Europe,” he continues. “I think aviation is one of the best tools we have for reducing inequalities across Europe, and can truly make a substantial difference to social and economic development both here and abroad.”

The expansion of airports is inevitable if Europe is going to cope with increasing passenger numbers and air traffic. Low-cost airlines have made air travel a possibility for millions more people, eager to discover new destinations. As numbers increase, it is essential that the industry works together to ensure pollution and environmental damage is reduced to the minimum.