Brussels, 26/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Around 4% of EU GDP is generated by the airports, according to a study presented to the European Parliament on 20 January.
The economic impact of European airports was examined by InterVISTAS, on behalf of the Airports Council International Europe (ACI) and reveals the fact that Europe's airports contribute to the employment of 12.3 million people, earn €365 billion in income annually and account for 4.1% of GDP. The study was presented to MEPs Gesine Meissner (ALDE, Germany), Franck Proust (EPP, France) and Istvan Ujhelyi (S&D, Hungary) and comes just at the right time, given that the Commission is preparing a strategic communication on the aviation sector.
Arnaud Feist is the president of ACI-Europe and CEO at Brussels Airport Company and he highlighted the fact that for each 10% rise in a country's connectedness, its per capita GDP grows by 0.5%. He also said that these figures highlighting the contribution of airports to GDP “clearly show that airports and their associated aviation partners are not just providing a service to other industries and the travelling public - but that they are in fact a key driver and facilitator of economic growth and prosperity in today's globalised world”. (MD)