Aviation Week & Space Technology - January 15, 2015

18 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/JANUARY 15-FEBRUARY 1, 2015 AviationWeek.com/awst

By Pierre Sparaco

Former Paris Bureau Chief

Pierre Sparaco has covered

aviation and aerospace

since the 1960s.

I

n a recent statement

that took many by

surprise, French Prime

Minister Manuel Valls

asserted yet again that

the envisioned Notre-

Dame-des-Landes

(NDDL) regional airport

will be built—despite

fierce opposition from

environmentalists. Other

influential members

of the Valls team have

confirmed that they do

not understand the need

to replace Nantes Atlantique,

the existing airport, noting

that such an endeavor would take a huge capital investment.

Segolene Royal, the minister of ecology, has stated often over the

last several months that NDDL makes no sense and, referring

to the overwhelming opposition to the project, ironically wished

Valls bon courage (good luck).

Such a public display of dissention

indicates the level of ignorance at the

top echelons of power when it comes

to the airline industry’s true needs.

However, Valls’s declaration should be

viewed as pure political posturing: He

seeks to demonstrate firmness and

probably does not really care about

slots and airport terminal capacity.

The unprecedented diference of

opinion could lead to a major and

disproportionate crisis of political

confidence as well as to a financial

fiasco. According to Valls, work on the

airport will begin in mid-year, after the

pending appeals process; the opening

is tentatively planned for 2017. He is

convinced that the judges’ forthcoming

decision—from the highest court—will

rule in his favor.

The complex NDDL case also serves

to underscore the absence of a national

airport policy. By far, France main-

tains too many active runways, most

of which are underused. To add to the

dissenting voices, local authorities say

NDDL will not add capacity but merely

replace Nantes Atlantique, which re-

portedly is near its saturation point. In

2013 the airport handled 4 million pas-

sengers, close to its theoretical capac-

ity of 4.3 million per year. It should be

noted, though, that the terminal could

be easily extended; an average 50,

aircraft movements per year confirm

its ample growth potential.

The prime minister’s political

resolve to build the new airport is

simply out of context. The heated

discussions of the last several months

have gone beyond air transport mat-

ters to encompass lifestyle priori-

ties and environmental objectives

that include the airlines’ share of

global pollution. Opponents label

Valls’s backing of the new airport

as “strange” and out of touch.

In the next few days, the NDDL

matter could come full circle. On

Jan. 16, an all-new working group is

scheduled to meet for the first time. It

comprises 60 experts in commercial

aviation who will seek to determine

how the existing airport could be

maintained and optimized to serve

the public well. Group leaders say

they will try hard to restore a more

nuanced approach to the airport situa-

tion, despite Valls’s stance.

Bruno Le Roux, an influential

left-wing member of parliament

(and Valls’s political ally), recently

completed an in-depth report on the

French airline industry’s plight in the

hopes of obtaining some tax relief

for that sector. He is expected to be

a major voice in the ongoing airport

controversy.

Airlines, including ailing Air France,

play a major role in the country’s econ-

omy but are not being treated as valu-

able contributors. No leading politician

in the past several years has taken a

serious interest in air transport. To

top it of, the lobbying eforts of the

airlines’ top executives have been inef-

fectual and at times nonexistent.

Air France, although partly priva-

tized and no longer a flag carrier, is

stagnating while low-cost carriers

are rapidly gaining market share.

France’s once illustrious role in

aviation is now tarnished, some say

beyond redemption.

Le Roux expects his report to serve

as a long-overdue wake-up call, but

at this point this is far from being the

case. In the meantime, local politi-

cians—many of whom have tunnel

vision—waste time arguing about

runway capacity in Brittany but are

unable to see the bigger picture.

National leaders, driven by short-

term goals, are responsible for the

pall of pessimism that enshrouds the

French airline sector. c

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls

is a vociferous proponent for building

NDDL regional airport.

France’s Ghost Airport

Political goals outweigh practicality

when it comes to aviation in France

COMMENTARY

Reality Check

FRENCH GOVERNMENT