ACI EUROPE -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 5/1/2003
Last Visited: 10/30/2009
John Hume, Director of Policy, ACI EUROPE, outlined the situation facing member airports, namely a plunge in passenger numbers since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.
In Europe, global passenger traffic declined sharply resulting in an overall decline of 5% for international passengers in March 2003 compared with March 2002.
The last ten days of March 2003, i.e. the days impacted by the war in Iraq, saw passenger numbers declining sharply at many European airports (Lisbon Airport -22.8%, Malta -17.2%, Manchester airport -12%, Schiphol -12%, Turin Airport -11.1%, Rome Fiumicino -6,7%).
As a result of the current crisis, some airports have taken the decision to put all investments on hold, such as at Schiphol Airport, which has postponed its investment projects for around two years.
Hume highlighted the importance of immediate intervention from the European Commission especially in the fields of insurance and security.