Mes: noviembre 2018

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Amsterdam Schiphol expansion proposed as Lelystad delayed

Amsterdam Schiphol airport in the Netherlands needs to find creative ways to cope with capacity issues and is hoping further expansion could give it breathing space as it awaits the opening of Lelystad as a sister airport.

Proposals to develop Lelystad, some 30 miles east of the city, into a commercial airport to handle Schiphol’s low-cost and leisure flights have been delayed to 2020 instead of next year to allow more time to consult with users and local residents.

In the short term, this gives Schiphol a headache. Despite operating six runways, with slots limited to 500,000 per year, the airport is already maxed out and has been negotiating limits on various types of operations.

Recently, a restriction on the number of morning wide-body aircraft operations has been introduced due to a lack of available gates at the terminal’s piers during this period. Until the new pier and terminal extension opens (progressively between 2019 and 2023) there will be little let-up for an airport which has experienced continual growth in passenger numbers — as much as 9.6 percent in 2016.

Radical proposals have looked into the possibility of expanding Schiphol into the North Sea. With the creation of a new offshore runway, remote boarding and light-rail link between the sites, it would allow noisier runways on the current site to be closed down.

Schiphol has been conscious of its need to be a good neighbor. Local residents have recently taken the airport to court over failings to manage the situation and violations in policy.

Yet residents understand the importance of the airport to the country’s economy. In a comment to Dutch News, researcher Eef Haverkort of the Schiphol area residents’ group said, «Air traffic will continue to grow. A ban on further growth of Schiphol is not realistic because of the airport’s great economic significance to the Dutch economy.»

This week the Netherlands’ Ministry of Transport has confirmed it will be discussing the expansion «seawards» in a study to be finalized in January 2019.

However, it seems that in this case it does not necessarily mean building into the sea which, after all, is 10 miles away at its nearest point. Instead, it would see the airport’s footprint grow to the west — an area which is the least problematic overall.

To expand north, south or east would mean negotiating protected forest and agricultural land, which is in short supply in the country, as well as busy arterial roads linking Amsterdam with the airport and parts of the city’s suburbs.

Ultimately, demand on Schiphol as one of Europe’s major airports will continue to grow and capacity will be reached again, owing to its popularity among travelers and the success of national carrier KLM. The introduction of commercial services to Lelystad as a second airport for Amsterdam is still a vital move in taking some of that pressure away and cannot come soon enough.

Source: Multibrief Exclusive

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Kenya launches project to upgrade Mombasa airport

Kenya has embarked on a project to refurbish and upgrade the country’s second largest airport to attract more international flights.

James Macharia, cabinet secretary at the ministry of transport, said Tuesday the 7 billion shilling (about 69 million U.S. dollars) project at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa will be undertaken for 24 months.

«It is therefore of paramount importance that we continue to invest in this airport to make sure that it maintains its excellent safety record, and to enhance the efficiency of its operations,» Macharia said in Mombasa during the commissioning of the project.

Macharia said the works include rehabilitation of the entire runway pavements, reconstruction of some sections of the taxiways and aprons, replacement of pre-cast concrete slabs and installation of an elaborate lighting system.

Other works include drainage works improvement, slope and ground stabilization.

The average lifespan of a runway is 20 to 25 years and the last major rehabilitation was done in 1994.

Kenya Airports Managing Director Jonny Andersen said the infrastructural projects will boost passenger numbers.

French development agency AFD will provide 65 million dollars for the project; the World Bank provided 900,000 dollars for the project’s consultancy services; Kenya Airports Authority will cover the balance.

The airport is serving the coastal area and is the principal port of entry for tourists, business travelers and others visiting the region, both from within and without the country.

According to Macharia, the capacity of the airport is over 2 million people but currently it only handles 300,000 people. The upgrade will enable the airport to operate at its maximum capacity.

Source: Xinhuanet

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L’Euro frena lo shopping tax free nel Vecchio Continente

L’Euro frena lo shopping tax free nel Vecchio Continente: il rafforzamento della moneta unica europea rispetto alle altre valute, soprattutto dollaro e renminbi cinese, ha generato nei primi nove mesi dell’anno un calo delle vendite tax free del 6% sullo stesso periodo del 2017. In Italia la flessione è stata ancora maggiore, pari al -8%.

Facebook/Global Blue

È quanto emerge dai dati Global Blue diffusi in occasione dell’appuntamento con l’Osservatorio Altagamma 2018. E se da un lato è calato il numero di transazioni, dall’altro è aumentato il valore dello scontrino medio europeo del 2%. Su questo dato si è soffermato Pier Francesco Nervini, chief operating officer North & Central Europe & global accounts Global Blue: “Interessante è l’innalzamento nello stesso periodo della transazione media il che conferma la minore elasticità al tasso di cambio da parte di compratori con più alto budget. Mi preme sottolineare che, nonostante il non positivo 2018, siamo sempre su valori superiori al 2016 e che il tax free si conferma una delle principali leve della crescita del comparto lusso”.

E se l’Italia soffre, non brillano neanche le altre nazioni: il tax free shopping ha rallentato in Gran Bretagna (-8%), Spagna (-8%) e Germania (-13%), con l’unica eccezione della Francia (+1%), sostenuta dai globe shopper appartenenti ai segmenti “Elite” (2,2%) e “Frequent” (17,7%) meno sensibili alle oscillazioni valutarie.

Da sottolineare il crescente impatto sul giro d’affari del settore esercitato dai Millennials, che nel 2017 rappresentano il 31% del totale degli acquirenti internazionali con un potere di acquisto in aumento del +17% sul 2016. Della generazione 18-34 anni crescono tutti i segmenti: quello “Infrequent” ha speso, lo scorso anno, il 10% in più rispetto al 2016; stesso trend del “Frequent” (4.000 euro, +17%), e dell’“Elite” (oltre i 51.000 euro, +10%).

Analizzando il dato per categorie merceologiche, si è assistito a una flessione nei segmenti “Luxury” (-8%) e “Premium” (-10%), mentre il “Mass” risulta stabile rispetto allo scorso anno.

Le vendite per nazionalità incoronano i globe shopper cinesi che nei nove mesi hanno realizzato il 29% del totale degli acquisti effettuati in Europa, sebbene in calo del 4% (soprattutto in UK a -8%). Seguono i viaggiatori provenienti dai Paesi del Golfo (11% del totale delle vendite tax free) e i russi (8% del totale). Calano, invece, gli acquirenti americani (-8%).

Nel Bel Paese, infine, calano gli acquisti tax free di cinesi (-5%) e russi (-15%),  che incidono, rispettivamente, sul 30% e 13% del totale. Segno meno anche per americani (-4%), coreani del sud (-15%) e, soprattutto, mediorientali (-16%).

Source: Fashion Network

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Greenland seeks tourists, investors with new airports

Greenland’s parliament has adopted a plan to upgrade or build airports to serve the massive North Atlantic island, keen to attract more tourists to its pristine Arctic wilderness.
Two airports — in the capital Nuuk and in the tourism centre Ilulissat — will be substantially upgraded, making it possible to fly directly to Greenland from Europe and North America.

A new national airport will be built in Qaqortoq in the south.

Greenland is an autonomous Danish territory. The plans have been controversial because of Copenhagen’s direct financial involvement.

The project is estimated to cost at least 3.6 billion kroner (482 million euros).

Almost 20 percent of the financing will be provided by Denmark, which contributes 3.6 billion kroner to the island’s annual budget.

Parliament adopted the proposal late Thursday with 18 out of 29 votes.

The three airports will serve the main population centres of the island, which is home to 55,000 people spread out across an area more than four times the size of France.

Construction of the airports is scheduled to be completed by 2023.

Source: The Local DK