Cannes Airport
The airport in Cannes, which is expected to welcome an additional three million annual tourists when its new terminal opens in September 2021, has been ranked the one most likely to be affected by air traffic infrastructure constraints in this region of the world.
The airport at Cannes is now being renovated, with three new terminals being built and expanded over the next five years.
Spanning the existing boundaries of Cannes and the newly built La Grande Maranche District, this airport complex will ultimately see five new passenger terminals built to coincide with the planned growth in demand for air travel into this region.
The new terminals will increase capacity to almost 15 million passengers a year, more than doubling the capacity of the current airport in the peak summer season, at a potential total cost of about EUR 2 billion.
However, while the construction will be well underway by the time the airport’s new terminal opens in September 2021, the potential scale of disruption at other airports in the region – such as Toulouse – means this may not be enough.
New flights for Cannes
The expansion of the runway at Toulouse is already nearing completion with the first test flights taking off in mid-2021, with the official opening in the summer of 2021. This airport currently serves more than 2.8 million passengers each year.
According to the CAA, other new flights to be introduced in the region include Geneva-Marseille, Geneva-Valencia, Geneva-Cordoba and Geneva-Nizza in 2021.
The report highlights further opportunities to increase air capacity.
Cannes Airport is also considered the most likely airport to suffer major disruption from construction activity in this part of the world, with the construction of the new Toulouse airport expected to affect more than 600,000 flights in the coming years, and bring additional challenges for the global aviation sector.
Airport worst affected by congestion
Regional authorities are aware that this will impact directly on passengers of the existing airport in Cannes.
It is estimated that these passengers, who are faced with more delays and longer journeys, could represent a total of 50,000 of the 170,000 potential new passengers arriving at the airport each year, according to the CAA.
According to the CAA, the current airport in Cannes is already the worst affected of all major airports in the region.
Cannes Airport currently suffers delays of up to 45 minutes on its three most important domestic and international routes – Paris-Calais-Paris, Milan-Bergamo-Paris and Milan-Düsseldorf-Paris – with estimated delays of up to 30 minutes on others, the CAA says.
However, the analysis shows that these delays will grow with the development of other airports in the region, as new routes, terminals and destinations are added to the airport system.
Conversely, while the airport could be further congested during this development phase, the current congestion is a consequence of growing demand in this part of the world.
This growth is the result of recent record levels of aviation activity in Europe – which has seen a total of more than 118 million passengers and more than 36 million tonnes of cargo air transported to and from the region, according to the CAA report.
While the construction of new airports is a vital part of the overall economic development of the regions in which they are being built, the new report suggests that even this will not be enough to ease congestion at existing airports.
Indeed, with the present rate of air traffic increase, the existing airport in Cannes’ capacity might be depleted in just 15 years.
For the aviation industry, it is now considered the more realistic option for airport authorities to try to attract more airlines into the region with the promise of wider flight slots to expand airport capacity.
However, for passengers, this is unlikely to happen soon enough.
Advice from Paris
To make matters worse, the report also includes detailed recommendations for the management of the existing airport in Cannes.
In particular, the report recommends reducing congestion on the existing airport by separating the arrival hall from the transfer desks, as well as helping travellers by displaying departure schedules from all departing flights.
It appears that those traveling from the southeast would be best served by taking other modes of transportation to the airport and staying as far away from the airport as possible during peak hours.
Passengers should also be encouraged to travel at least two hours before their flight departs to arrive at the airport.
Finally, more passenger facilitation staff would be needed to provide customer service to passengers, including guiding and advising them in airport facilities as well as informing them of the airport layout, according to the CAA.
The report adds that additional security measures should also be implemented to help increase security measures and improve safety.
Aside from highlighting the shortage of airport capacity in Cannes, the CAA report highlights the difficulty of transporting passengers through the existing airport, despite the complex journey itself.
For those arriving by plane, the current airport, located in the heart of the city, is accessed from three different railway stations.
As well as using public transport, it is also recommended that passengers could walk to the train station, to make sure they arrive at the correct terminal in the city centre.
For those travelling from the south-east, the report recommends using the Airport Express Line, from the city centre, to get to the airport in less than an hour.
Once there, passengers should be encouraged to take the EasyBus, to and from the airport.
Even though it only operates for a limited number of flights, the CAA says that those who use the Express Line are likely to spend significantly less on flights, and could help ease the airport’s current congestion.
For those on the airfield, it is recommended that emergency airfield access be extended to facilitate the immediate evacuation of passengers in the event of an emergency.
About Ibiza Airport
Ibiza Airport has been growing at a fast pace in recent years, with a huge increase in passenger and aircraft traffic over the last few years.
That’s the main reason why the airport is undergoing major construction work in the area around the Departure Hall, aiming to extend the current Departure Hall to a maximum of 22 million passengers per year.
The two-year construction works started this week. In the near future, the Departure Hall will be extended to 8.000 square meters, with an extension to the building’s southern wing of 500 square meters.
The expansion is expected to increase the flow of passengers at the airport, and will allow for 1,6 million passengers per year, with around 130 new aircraft each month.
Apart from the increased capacity, the Ibiza Airport’s construction works are also being carried out in order to facilitate the creation of new aircraft parking bays.
Aside from the existing building projects, the Spanish airport operator plans to extend the runway to a maximum length of 1,800 meters.
Part of the larger project of the airport’s growth will also involve a future extension of its Terminal 1, which is expected to be complete by 2021.
That means that the Spanish Airport will be expanding its capacity over the next few years, with its new Departure Hall and the extension of the existing Terminal 1.
A new Terminal 2 is planned for the airport in the next few years, and is expected to be completed by 2025.
The current Departure Hall in the Ibiza Airport is capable of handling over 8.7 million passengers, while its Terminal 1 is set to be able to handle around 10 million passengers by 2021.
Check our our Destination Ibiza Gallery here, with a plethora of photos showing off the beauty of Ibiza, and all of its fabulous beaches, landmarks, and other attractions.
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