In the last “normal year” for aviation, 34 of the airports in Norway were drilled on the backs of nine airports that made a profit. It was in 2019 and in line with the Avinor model (see below), which means that the big ones must provide for the little ones. But since then, air traffic has stagnated and changed the relationship between profitable and unprofitable airports. According to Avinor, there may now be as few as six of the airports operating with a profit. This means that the profitable airports make up 16 per cent of the total. Against 26 percent four years ago. At the top, “a silent bomb” in the accounts shows that the entire equity capital of Avinor is at stake. According to E24, the company was only days away from “financial collapse” when the government increased the airport tax. – The financial challenges facing Avinor mean that we have to turn over all stones, says Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård to news. In 2019, five of the regional airports had positive operating results. In addition, the airports in Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim made a profit. Photo: Avinor This is the Avinor model The Avinor model means that Avinor must be self-financing to the greatest extent possible, and that the company must operate co-financing between economically profitable and unprofitable airports. Avinor’s mission in society is to own, operate and develop a nationwide network of airports for the civil sector and a combined aviation security service for the civil and military sectors. In its role as owner, the state decides which airports the company will develop and operate. Avinor is currently responsible for 43 air ports, including the heliport at Værøy. In addition, Avinor owns Haugesund Airport, which is leased to external operators, and Fagernes Airport, which has been closed down and planned to be sold. Source: The government’s aviation strategy – A crisis the government itself has created The reason for the cash crunch is that Avinor has assumed that air traffic will increase by 2 percent every year. If zero growth is the new normal, the entire equity capital may collapse. – Previously, our forecasts have shown that air traffic will be back at the 2019 level in 2024/2025. We now estimate that traffic will not return to the same level as before the pandemic until 2027/2028, says CEO of Avinor, Abraham Foss in a press release. On Tuesday, the company will come up with figures for the third quarter. State Secretary Bent-Joacim Bentzen (Sp) emphasized that the situation was dramatic when he visited Dagsnytt on 18. – It is not just about NOK 200 million. This is about the entire economic model of Avinor, he explained. Avinor has itself signaled that they need to increase their income by up to NOK 1.7 billion a year. In a letter, the government proposes several handshakes, but clarifies that the help can only come in the state budget for 2025. Last Friday, the Progressive Party presented its alternative state budget for 2024. There they propose to remove the air passenger tax and to reverse “the petty cut in the tax-free quota”. The cut in the tax-free scheme is said to have cost Avinor NOK 236 million. – This is a crisis the government itself has created, says Frp representative Morten Stordalen to news. Avinor’s income has taken a nosedive a year after Norwegians started flying less and the government cut the tax-free quota. In the second quarter, Avinor had a profit before tax of around NOK 244 million, down from NOK 463 million in the same period last year. Normally, tax revenue accounts for just under half of Avinor’s total revenue. Income from commercial operations makes up the rest. Avinor’s airports are very different in size and traffic volume. Oslo Airport is by far the largest airport and normally accounts for more than half of the air traffic in Norway and around 70 percent of all international traffic. – Little reason to believe that they will make a profit in the future Flight analyst Hans Jørgen Elnæs was a former head of Ryanair. He believes the end of the saga will be for the state to take over larger infrastructure projects that are currently Avinor’s responsibility. – It may also happen that the state has to take over responsibility for a number of loss-making airports. There is little reason to believe that the airports with an “eternal loss” will turn a profit in the future. In 2012, Avinor proposed to close down four airports. An overview (2014) from the Institute of Transport Economics shows that each passenger at Sandane airport in Nordfjord costs the state NOK 1,163. – Put it down, Frps county leader Frank Willy Djuvik signed off. On a general basis, State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, John-Ragnar Aarset (H), stated that he was “open” to closing down the most expensive airports. – If the overall infrastructure improves in an area, it may be better to invest in a large airport rather than several small ones, he told Bergens Tidende. 27 of Avinor’s airports are short-haul airports, with runways between 800 and 1,200 metres. These are trafficked by smaller aircraft of the Dash 8 type, ambulance aircraft and private aircraft. In 2019, Oslo airport had 28 million passengers and 244,000 aircraft movements, while Berlevåg had 5,600 passengers and 1,560 aircraft movements. Avinor was hit hard financially by the pandemic and received a total of NOK 7.4 billion in operating subsidies from the state in 2020 and 2021. aviation’, it says that Avinor is in a ‘strained financial situation’. The Center Party: – Closing down airports is a non-issue Nine years later, there is apparently less movement on the issue of speech at airports, despite increasing pressure. A recommendation from the Quale committee (2020) to close down airports was immediately shelved, and in the Hurdal platform (2021) the Støre government promises to “maintain and further develop the current airport structure”. – It is a political value to have airports also in the districts. Good flight deals are important for people and businesses. Closing down airports is a non-issue, says Siv Mossleth (Sp) to news. Erik Lahnstein is the head of NHO Luftfart, but has for two periods been state secretary for the Center Party in the Ministry of Transport. In the chronicle “Sacred local offer”, he complains that the idea of closing down airports is so “sensitive” that the benefits are not even explored. – I would like us not to start the debate by asking which airports should be closed down, he says. – The question should rather be how we as a society get the best holistic solutions with available resources. The government protects all airports and specifies that the current airport structure is fixed – whatever the cost. Photo: Ministry of Transport In the second quarter, Avinor had a profit before tax of around NOK 244 million, down from NOK 463 million in the same period last year. Photo: NTB
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35 out of 43 airports run a deficit – news Vestland
