Brussels, 01/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - The Airports Council International (ACI) is deeply concerned by the reintroduction of a number of internal borders in the Schengen area. It is calling for this area of free movement to remain intact and for financial aid to be stepped up to airports so that they can meet the revised objectives in the “Schengen Border Code”.
The Director-General of the ACI, Olivier Jankovec, said that the reintroduction of borders between member states in the Schengen area “would require a restructuring of airport facilities, involving investments easily reaching hundreds of millions of euros for each of the largest Schengen airports. The dislocation of the Schengen area would have an immediate impact and lead to an unprecedented levels of congestion”. He also argues that some of these large airports are already extremely congested (see EUROPE 11448) and many flights would be disrupted as well. The main European airports and well-known “hubs” would not be able to ensure connections with other flights.
Jankovec said that “the result would be longer travel times, reduced choice for consumers and degraded connectivity for Europe. The impact would not just be felt on aviation, but also on tourism and the wider economy”.
According to an ACI study, a 10% increase in airspace connectivity would correlate in an increase in per capita GDP of 0.5%.
To this end, the airports are calling for implementation of the package for strengthening the Schengen area and external border controls as soon as possible (see EUROPE 11499). They also indicate, however, that this revision will require additional control and police personnel and they are therefore calling for appropriate financial assistance in this connection. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)