Strasbourg faces SEA change

Strasbourg International Airport is facing an uncertain future but, as the seat of several EU institutions, the absence of an airport serving the city seems inconceivable.

The airport suffers from a number of handicaps, the biggest being the ferocious domestic competition from high-speed TGV trains. Between 2006 and 2008, for instance, air traffic to Paris fell from 987,000 passengers to 346,000; and the estimated figure for 2009 is 275,000.

High-speed rail also hit routes to Lille and Nantes, driving a 33.5 per cent fall in passenger traffic at Strasbourg between 2005 and 2008, from 2.03 million to 1.33 million.

Not all the ills of the airport can be blamed on the TGV, however. Despite the fact that the airport serves a potential market of more than 4.4 million inhabitants within 90 minutes' drive, its share of this catchment area is eroded by the presence of a dozen airports within a 250 km radius of the city. Low-cost traffic is important in this respect - and Strasbourg suffered after Ryanair withdrew in 2004. Air Berlin and Ryanair are both in Baden/Karlsruhe in Germany, while easyJet established a base in Basle/Mulhouse in Switzerland.

Strasbourg's cost structures appear unfavourable compared with its closest neighbours. Departure taxes and fees, including a security levy, total EUR27 (USD37) per passenger compared with an average of EUR12-14 in Germany (where each state covers the cost of airport security, for instance). The departure of Ryanair helps to explain the reluctance of low-cost carriers to operate from Strasbourg. "Ryanair would have certainly stimulated our traffic," explains Francis Ruetsch, marketing director for Strasbourg International Airport. "However, to have a budget carrier is not our priority for the time being. We are looking more to consolidate our network with legacy carriers already present at the airport."