The viability of a number of smaller airports in France, a lot of which give attention to low-cost flights to the UK, is beneath the highlight.
Regional auditors have been finding out airports of their areas after points had been flagged up in June by public sector auditing physique the Cour des comptes.
Experiences by passengers’ organisation Fnaut have additionally beforehand flagged up massive state subsidies, as excessive as €1,300 per passenger (Angoulême in 2012).
Fnaut spokesman François Delétraz mentioned: “These are fairly previous figures now however they continue to be pertinent. I’m not positive native taxpayers would have been joyful about that.
“It comes all the way down to political will in a single area to the following to maintain an airport as a result of councils suppose it brings worth to the financial system. The query is whether or not it truly is worth for cash or not.”
Angoulême has now ceased business flights and is used just for personal and enterprise journey, coaching flights and pastime flying golf equipment.
Excessive security prices however few alternatives to earn a living
‘Intermediate’ airports, smaller than massive worldwide airports however greater than native airfields, are significantly beneath scrutiny, particularly within the south-west and west.
These embody Béziers-Cap d’Agde, Nîmes, la Rochelle, Tarbes, Quimper and Perpignan.
In its report, the nationwide state auditor mentioned 41 of France’s 73 airports are intermediate, serving between 10,000 to 3 million business passengers a 12 months.
That is considerably extra airports per capita than in nearly all different EU nations.
It mentioned intermediate airports had the excessive security and safety prices linked to business visitors however don’t obtain sufficient passengers to profit considerably from facet actions similar to parking and retailers.
Learn extra: Police numbers at French airports to be elevated by as much as 40%
Airports with fewer than 700,000 passengers a 12 months had been probably the most “economically fragile and most topic to dependency on low-cost airways”.
They’re usually owned by native councils since a decentralisation programme within the early 2000s and most depend on council funds to steadiness the books and make obligatory investments, the Cour mentioned.
Noting elevated prepare use and airports’ carbon footprint, “the map of the airports ought to change’’, it suggested.
One downside is there’s not a nationwide physique with total cost of the situation of airports.
Béziers airport paid Ryanair hundreds of thousands of euros in subsidies
Béziers, which has 200,000 passengers a 12 months, faces “sturdy competitors” with 5 airports located lower than 100km away, mentioned the Chambre régionale des comptes (CRC) d’Occitanie.
Auditors mentioned the airport, run by a syndicate of communal, departmental and regional councils, additionally offers Ryanair help, which was not disclosed to the French or EU authorities and dangers being seen as ‘undeclared state support’.
This consisted partly of ‘success charges’ of €5.50/passenger departing on new or current routes, similar to Luton, Stansted, Manchester and Bristol.
The CRC mentioned these charges, which had existed for eight years regardless of an goal of 350,000 passengers a 12 months by no means being attained, nearly cancel out Ryanair’s contribution to airport turnover, regardless of it being the biggest consumer of its providers.
As well as, the syndicate had agreements to pay a Ryanair subsidiary to advertise the realm to northern European vacationers.
An ongoing EU investigation has recognized this as a type of subsidy and never “an actual want”.
From 2017 to 2021, these funds totalled €10.3million and had been along with €2.5million in ‘success charges’.
The airport contract with Ryanair permits the agency to stop flights with out discover.
Learn extra: French airport highlighted as susceptible and too depending on Ryanair
EU might problem support for Nîmes airport
A report on Nîmes famous “optimistic and fragile hypotheses” of greater than 400,000 passengers by 2028, up from 223,000 in 2022.
State support of greater than €8million was anticipated to be paid within the intervening years, which had not been pre-notified to the EU and dangers being challenged.
Projections additionally included the launch of latest home routes, notably to Paris, which “stay unsure in a context of competitors from the prepare and constraints linked to local weather legal guidelines”.
Financial advantages questioned
Auditors in Nouvelle-Aquitaine cited quite a few funds to lighten prices to airways at La Rochelle airport and an “overestimate” of the financial advantages of low-cost traces relative to their price and environmental impression.
A report on Brittany famous the “excessive density” of 5 airports, with Brest and Quimper being significantly shut and the latter “very a lot council-subsidised”.
A Quimper-Orly service was singled out for receiving €13.5million in subsidies over 4 years, whereas flights had been solely a 3rd full as of 2021, that means every passenger price the state €648.
‘Areas poorly served by trains want their airports’
Mr Delétraz mentioned there are solely about 10 airports with greater than one million passengers a 12 months, and that are actually worthwhile, with the remainder depending on state subsidies to some extent.
Nevertheless the help and passenger numbers are extremely variable and understanding how a lot a sure airport brings into the native financial system could be complicated, he mentioned.
Even so, some are additionally clearly “important to the transport infrastructure of the realm”.
“I’m considering, for instance, of Castres, Aurillac or Brive, that are areas which can be badly served by trains.”
Learn extra: Enhance for southern France as launch dates set for brand new ‘TGV’ routes
Councils see airports as public service
Airports chief Nicolas Paulissen, of the Union des Aéroports Français, mentioned he doesn’t foresee airports closing however that some routes may be lowered or websites might cease business providers.
This was the case at Dinard, the place Ryanair flights to Stansted ceased in 2021 and the positioning now focuses on plane upkeep.
“It isn’t information to us that many airports are in deficit however many councils see it as a public service.
“Swimming swimming pools are unprofitable and financed by public funds. Why not airports? The principle factor is to run them effectively and attempt to keep away from excessive subsidies.”
He mentioned it’s “sure” that the dependency of some airports on low-cost companies creates “fragility”.
“It will be finest to keep away from having airports too shut as that enables companies similar to Ryanair to play on that competitors and procure benefits that they might not in any other case obtain.
“Coherent methods are wanted at regional degree so airports have totally different specialisations.
“It relies upon additionally on airways’ methods. They go the place it’s worthwhile. However what worries us is will increase in tax, particularly tariffs that fund security and safety, as a result of that will increase firms’ prices, and we fear they may go away France to go elsewhere.”
He mentioned it’s true some offers have been questioned by the EU however in that case it ought to present clearer laws as to how airports can legitimately encourage airways to make use of their amenities.
He added France would likely not have seen so many Britons shopping for predominant or second properties had been it not for the smaller airports and low-cost flights.
‘Folks purchased properties in France due to the regional airports’
Justine Wallington, co-chair of Rift, an English-speaking help group for individuals in France, mentioned: “These smaller airports are important for British, Belgian, Irish and different nationals who depend on them for journeys to see household and buddies. They’re additionally key for selling enterprise.
“Most of the flights are for a distance that can’t be virtually changed by prepare journey.”
Claire Godfrey, south-west spokeswoman for the British Community Committee of France, mentioned: “Many individuals purchased properties within the south-west due to the simple entry to London and UK regional airports, so far as Scotland.
“The price of prepare journey, and difficulties for older individuals sick, would imply being reduce off from family and friends.”
She mentioned some individuals commute between France and the UK every week and he or she even spoke to at least one one that does so day by day.
She added {that a} 2012 survey of over 1,000 individuals at Bergerac Airport by Dordogne’s enterprise chambers discovered the common customer reported spending €1,000 throughout their journey.
It additionally present in one other examine that greater than 50% of tradespeople mentioned they’d no less than half their revenue from British purchasers, she mentioned.
Many Britons additionally stay within the Charente and Charente-Maritime and if flights ended at La Rochelle it might “make life very tough”, she added.
Ruling in opposition to Ryanair
In mid-October Ryanair misplaced two top-level appeals associated to French airports.
One discovered it didn’t declare and pay social prices on 127 employees at Marseille from 2007-2010, the opposite dominated that Angoulême airport didn’t should pay a ‘advertising and marketing charges’ invoice after Ryanair axed a London service at brief discover.
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