It is almost impossible to make the three Flemish regional airports profitable, a long-awaited cost-benefit analysis shows. Closures are the most efficient for Antwerp and Kortrijk. That is what the Mediahuis newspapers write today.
With Antwerp (Deurne), Ostend-Bruges and Kortrijk (Wevelgem), Flanders has three regional airports, which have very limited passenger and cargo volumes compared to Zaventem and smaller airports in Wallonia or our neighboring countries. Without massive government support for security and fire services, their operation is not profitable.
The Flemish government agreed to strive for “a situation in which the social benefits are greater than the social costs” and to allow the airports to “evolve as far as possible into profitable companies”. The long-awaited report that was supposed to map out those costs and benefits in detail is now ready.
The analysis takes into account not only the financial impact, but also broader welfare effects such as the living environment, health or safety. Different scenarios are calculated for the three airports. From explosive growth, over a moderate evolution, to a complete closure in 2030.
Conclusions
First conclusion: the airports can only operate without loss if they expand to the maximum, with passenger numbers far above what they have ever achieved. Currently, the subsidies for Ostend amount to 120 million euros a year, for Antwerp 79 million and for Kortrijk 29 million. It is highly uncertain whether those scenarios can be realized, the study states.
Second conclusion: in both Antwerp and Kortrijk, the closure emerges as the scenario with the greatest social benefits. A closure of Deurne would yield 40 million euros, eight times more than the second best scenario. At Ostend, the closure is the most advantageous slope.
Groen: “Close loss-making subsidy guzzler Deurne”
In a response, the Groen party says that it finds the closure of Deurne airport “objectively the most interesting option”. “The analysis says it all in black and white: a closure of Deurne airport appears to yield 8 to 40 times more social benefits than any other scenario,” says Flemish MP Meyrem Almaci. “It is good that this is now also being objectified. Time to make the right choices and close this loss-making subsidy guzzler.”
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