Assuming the position of Vice President of Albenga’s Airport has given me the opportunity to delve into the dynamics of a strategic sector for Italy, that of air transport, which is currently at the center of an important phase of change relating both to new policies focused on sustainability and to the consequences of the pandemic. In fact, the future development of this sector cannot be separated from a deep restructuring, which is especially required by the new scenarios of sustainable mobility, given also the high environmental impact of air transportation.
Let us not forget, firstly, that we are talking about a sector in great difficulty due to the pandemic and that was unfortunately neglected at this stage of restart. Despite a total inducement of between 3 and 6 percent of GDP (Assaeroporti data), the policy choice to set other priorities is quite evident in the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRP), in which the airport sector was not considered.
This could be a short-sighted choice, which is likely to result in a real strategic mistake. Recall that, pre-pandemic, the sector had around 200 million travellers per year. A figure that, according to estimates, may be seen again, but no sooner than 2024-2025 (Enac data in “Social Report and Budget 2020“). The excellent recovery in 2021, at +52.5 percent over 2020, is encouraging, but let us recall that it is still 58 percent less than pre-covid (Enac data in “Traffic Data 2021“). So the recovery will be rather slow, but what role will sustainability policies play in this process?
The decision not to include air transport as one of the recipients of NRP funds is also dictated by European guidelines, with the clear discriminator of high impact from the environmental point of view, in favor of other means of transport deemed more “environmentally-friendly.” However, the air sector is unlikely to be effectively replaced by other means of transportation, which is why it may make sense to ask about the most appropriate ways that can support its healthy development in the long run.
This is also confirmed by the words of Assaeroporti President Carlo Borgomeo: “At present, we are in a debt situation that does not allow us to self-finance projects on sustainability.”
In fact, if we look at the ownership structures of Italian airports, there does not seem to be widespread interest from private investors, especially foreign investors, ready to “bet” on the sector. Current investors are mainly Italian, e.g., Atlantia and the F2i fund, in addition, of course, to public actors linked to the territory, such as municipalities and chambers of commerce. The NRP could have been a strong signal that could have attracted the attention of new Italian and foreign investors, bringing capital, skills and ideas.
In the airport sector, therefore, the new sustainable mobility may be slow to “take off,” leaving a sector with important spillover effects at the territorial level and at the level of the national economic system untapped.