Spanish airport operator AENA has reported that scheduled capacity across its network for summer 2022 will be about 215.6 million seats—a rise of 1.6% on summer 2019. Madrid (MAD) and Barcelona (BCN) have recovered 95% and 90% of pre-pandemic levels, while airports with scheduled increases compared to 2019 include Menorca (MAH), which will be up by 40%, and Lanzarote (ACE), which will see a 15% capacity rise. Additionally, AENA said it invested €236 million ($248 million) across its airports in the first quarter of 2022, representing a year-on-year increase of more than €56 million.
BASQUETOUR
Premium quality and sustainable tourism will be the axis of a new brand that has been launched by the Basque government’s Department of Tourism, Trade and Consumer Affairs through tourism agency Basquetour. The Euskadi Basque Country Confidential brand brings together 85 businesses, hotels and restaurants with the aim of offering unique experiences to travelers visiting the region. The brand aims to capitalize on the fact that the area, which is 7,234 sq km in size, boasts 34 Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as beaches, mountains and exceptional landscapes. The new strategy will target premium travelers visiting such Basque cities as Bilbao, San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Lithuanian Airports has launched a tender for the creation of a master plan for the development of its airport network until 2032. The strategy will provide an overview of the current infrastructure capacity and assess the long-term prospects for expansion at Vilnius (VNO), Kaunas (KUN) and Palanga (PLQ). “The aim of this study is to have a clear assessment of the potential of each and an overview of possible alternatives,” said Arnas Dūmanas, head of operations and infrastructure at Lithuanian Airports. According to Dūmanas, the strategy will focus on the specific strengths of each airport, the expansion of flights, and the increase of capacity in passenger and cargo terminals.
Budapest Airport CEO Chris Dinsdale
BUD
Budapest (BUD) has invested more than €200 million on redevelopment projects over the past two years to expand capacity, improve infrastructure and advance its sustainability strategy. The airport said it reduced its carbon emissions to half the level of 10 years ago, while emissions per passenger were one-third of 2011 levels. In 2021, BUD set itself the goal of achieving net-zero emissions 15 years earlier than previously committed, by 2035 at the latest. “The coming years will be all about quality, growth and capacity, as well as sustainability at the airport,” BUD CEO Chris Dinsdale said. “However, this quartet must be in balance with each other to fulfill Budapest Airport’s objectives and vision for the future. Growth and further quality improvements are not possible without capacity development, which in turn must be consistent with our long-term sustainability ambitions.”
London Southend (SEN) has reopened its terminal building, welcoming back scheduled flights for the first time since October 2021. From early May, easyJet returned to the airport, offering a six times per week route to Malaga and a four times per week service to Palma de Mallorca using Airbus A320s. “We’d like to thank our truly outstanding team for all their efforts in making sure we’re ready to welcome back passengers and we want to recognize the huge support we have received from our amazing local community throughout an incredibly challenging time brought about by the pandemic,” SEN CEO Glyn Jones said. Serving close to 2.3 million passengers in 2019, London Southend offered flights to about 40 domestic and European cities.
Lodz Airport Central Poland (LCJ) is seeking to attract routes to more than two dozen unserved destinations, including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle. The airport, which will host Routes Europe 2023, has used Routes 360 to highlight the 25 white spots in its network where it sees the most
potential to be served. As well as outlining its hopes to secure flights to key European hubs, the airport has also identified secondary markets like Brussels South Charleroi, Dortmund and Eindhoven. Lodz is located about 140 km southwest of the Polish capital Warsaw, home to a population of about 675,000 people.
SEA Milan, the operator of Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Milan Linate (LIN), expects 156 destinations in 70 countries to be served from the airports during the summer 2022 season by 69 airlines. The group said it has seen a 75% recovery of its portfolio versus the record year of 2019. More positively, seat capacity will also exceed the summer season three years ago. In Europe, capacity is expected to reach 106% of 2019 levels this summer. At Malpensa, easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air will collectively base 40 aircraft and serve a network of 88 destinations. Elsewhere, North America is a driver of the recovery on long-haul traffic. This is being fueled by the entry of new players, such as Neos and La Compagnie, and new route launches to MXP by Delta Air Lines from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Air Canada from Montreal (YUL).
A new airport management optimization platform has been implemented at Athens International (ATH) with the goal of generating operational and cost efficiencies. The SITA technology allows the airport to share key operational data with stakeholders including airlines, government agencies and air navigation service providers, offering all parties a real time, data-rich view of the airport. The information enhances efficiency of ground operations planning, including for tasks such as assigning gates and deployment of employees and equipment. ATH COO Alexandros Aravanis said the technology “puts us in a strong position to manage the increase in passengers as travel rebounds in the coming months.”
