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Airports in Europe are facing a significant challenge as infrastructure is projected to fall short of meeting up to 12% of demand by 2050, according to Airports Council International (ACI) Europe. Political constraints make large-scale airport developments unlikely, potentially affecting Europe's competitiveness. The focus now shifts to maximizing capacity from existing infrastructure.
Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security, stated, “The only cure for insufficient capacity is construction. But as long as large-scale endeavors such as building new runways or terminals remain politically out-of-reach in many parts of the world, we must squeeze every last unit of capacity out of the infrastructure we have.”
A newly published IATA White Paper on airport slots suggests stronger obligations for airports to maximize their capacity. Careen highlighted that while airlines face penalties for not utilizing slots efficiently, airports do not face similar consequences if they fail to deliver promised capacity. He emphasized the need for a rebalancing so that both airports and airlines work towards maximizing the social and economic value of airport capacity.
