Airports Council International Europe | ACI EUROPE (2024)

• +500 airports
• 55 European countries
• 2.3 billion passengers

The evolution of airports

In today's European airport network, competition is the name of the game, as airlines can pick and choose their air services, shopping around for the best deal. Against the backdrop of aviation liberalisation, the adoption of the internet in the 1990s, the rise of the low cost carriers and the enlargement of the EU from 15 to 28 Member States, airports have evolved from being mere infrastucture providers into fully fledged businesses in their own right (over 80% of European airports are now fully corporatised businesses). Legislation affecting civil aviation is increasingly enacted at the European level, with an ever-evolving array of economic, social, technical and legal issues resulting from closer European integration and pan-European agreements. By working closely with policy makers and industry partners, ACI EUROPE ensures that European airports - their function and their business - are fully integrated in decision-making processes affecting our industry.

Fast Facts

• Airport Economics

  Airports typically rely on two distinct revenue streams: aeronautical revenues consisting of charges paid by airlines and passengers for the use of airport facilities and services; and non-aeronautical revenues consisting of a wide range of commercial activities.

  42% of the European airports are loss-making – with 71% of airports with less than 1 million passengers per year in the red.

  Aeronautical revenues make up 55% of airports’ total revenues. Revenues earned from charges paid directly by airlines (aircraft-related charges) account for only 17% of airports’ revenues.

• Airport Investment & Ownership

  Airports are extremely capital intensive business due to the need to keep investing for the future and ensure that their facilities are up to date and able to meet projected passenger and freight demand. Europe’s airports are planning to invest more than €50 billion over the period 2019-2023, with capital costs accounting for around 30% of total costs.

  The ACI EUROPE report The Ownership of Europe’s Airports shows that over 40% of Europe's airports have at least some private shareholders - and these airports handle close to 75% of passenger traffic each year. This number is slowly increasing each year.

• Economic Impact

  According to a 2015 study by InterVISTAS on the Economic Impact of European Airports, airports contribute to the employment of 12.3 million people, earning €365 billion in income annually. Overall, they generate €675 billion in income annually - accounting for 4.1% of GDP in Europe.

• Sustainability

  In June 2019, ACI EUROPE launched its Sustainability Strategy for Airports,which is based on the following shared vision of the sustainable airport of the future: “Every airport builds local and global partnerships to accelerate the journey towards fair, prosperous and environmentally responsible societies”.

  Over 200 of Europe’s airports also committed to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions without offsetting for their own operations by 2050.

• Regional Airports

  Almost 500 airports are regional airports in Europe, serving primarily short and medium range routes and point to point destinations. With 209 air carriers, more than 14,600 routes to over 724 destinations in 2017, regional airports play a vital role in connecting the regions of Europe – largely defining the economy of their communities and strengthening social cohesion. They contribute to the employment of 1.8 million people and they generate €84 billion of GDP.

• Security

  An average 20% of airport operating costs are security-related, with a significant percentage of airport staff being security-related.

  Europe is the only region in the world, where aviation security receives little or no state funding.

  More than 2.6 billion passengers pass through Europe's airports every year, connecting places, people and products.

Structure

The stated vision and mission of Airports Council International Europe (ACI EUROPE) is to advance the collective interests of Europe's airports and promote professional excellence in airport management and operations. We aim to expand the body of knowledge in airport management and to encourage the exchange of know-how between European airports. We strive to seek co-operation with air transport to vigorously promote a wider and deeper public understanding of the value of air transport and the challenges it faces.

The Board of Directors is mainly composed of the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of 24 member airports – big and small. The Board has authority to take decisions on all relevant issues and is chaired by a President who serves for one year, with the possibility of re-election once. The President is elected by the General Assembly of ACI EUROPE.

Cooperation & Collaboration

ACI EUROPE works on a day-to-day basis with the institutions of the European Union, as well as the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), the European Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the SESAR Joint Undertaking(SESAR JU) and all the national civil aviation authorities in Europe. Colleagues in ACI World pursue the same mission with the International Civil Aviation Organization of the United Nations (ICAO) and other world organisations.

ACI EUROPE maintains close relationships with many national airport operator associations and with a number of organisations, with interests related to the aviation. These include the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), the Airlines International Representation in Europe (AIRE), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), Airport Regions Conference (ARC), the European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC), the European Travel Commission (ETC) and the European Disability Forum (EDF).

ACI EUROPE naturally maintains regular dialogue on international issues with other regions of Airports Council International (ACI Africa, ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East, ACI Latin America & Caribbean and ACI North America) and our global coordination office, ACI World.