2013 Charleroi airport (CRL/EBCI) latest news

[sn26567]

Suspicions of state aid to Charleroi Airport

The European Commission believes that the intervention of the Walloon Region in the financing of new investments in the Walloon airports is likely to be classified as State aid. It sent a letter to the Walloon authorities asking for details on how to justify their intervention and their compatibility with European regulations. The EU executive is especially wary of new investments at Charleroi airport that will allow it to increase its capacity and create nearly 2,000 new jobs.

The European Commission requires details in order to determine if the region has acted as a private investor. They should allow to better understand the terms of any grants or loans and see if they have been granted in accordance with the legislation in force.

Mainly Charleroi
The Commission has therefore sent in late July, a letter to the Walloon authorities asking them to provide all the details of the various operations, some of which could relate to the Walloon Airports Company (Sowaer). These investments are valued at about 24 million and could be funded with Sowaer which would then pass them over to the management companies in Charleroi (Brussels South Charleroi Airport / BSCA) and Liege (Liege Airport).

But the EU is primarily interested in the Charleroi airport, which needs urgent work estimated at some EUR 9.3 million (an approach radar, ground radar and a ceilometer).

The BSCA business plan was validated in April, to allow an expansion of the terminal to accommodate up to 9 million passengers (vs 6.5 million passengers in 2012). The new development plan calls for an increase in parking spaces to reach a total of 11,000 places. Work is expected to begin in spring 2014 and take two years. The extensions will create about 2,000 new jobs (the airport currently generates 3,000 direct jobs). New investments in Charleroi are valued at approximately 78 million euros (excluding VAT).

If the investigation by the European Commission should lead to a tightening of the rules, it would undermine the whole funding mechanism of Walloon airports via Sowaer. It would also handicap one aspect of the policy of the Walloon government that regional airports are an element of economic development.

Full article (in French) in L'Echo

[Tomskii]

I hope you do realise that there are directly employed people for Ryanair and than the indirectly employed people who are probably more numerous

Verstuurd vanaf mijn LT26i met Tapatalk 4

[sn26567]

Indeed, and for once, the EU investigation has nothing to do with Ryanair, but with the airport infrastructure itself. Many jobs are at stake in a region that badly needs them, and I hope that the Commission will realise that the Walloon Region, as sole shareholder of the airport, has the right to invest in it with the aim to make the airport self-sufficient in the medium- to long-term.

[airazurxtror]

A piece of April foolery ?

http://www.lesoir.be/300429/article/act ... on-d-avril

L’article de presse sur lequel se base la DG Concurrence et dont la Commission se sert notamment pour justifier sa demande de renseignements était en réalité un poisson d’avril, révèlent samedi L’Echo et De Morgen.«Il n’a jamais été question de construction d’une deuxième piste chez nous. C’est un poisson d’avril de 2013 et la Commission européenne se base sur ce texte pour nous épingler inutilement. On peut se poser des questions sur le sérieux avec lequel travaillent certains gestionnaires de dossiers à la Commission européenne», s’insurge Jean-Jacques Cloquet, CEO de Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA), qui demande à la Commission d’arrêter «ce harcèlement qui nous pompe de l’énergie pour rien.»

http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/996/Econom ... port.dhtml

De Europese Commissie heeft een waarschuwing voor mogelijke staatssteun naar de Waalse overheden gestuurd. Alleen baseert de Commissie haar onderzoek op een aprilvis van een tijdschrift. .

[sn26567]

The April's Fool joke is only about a second runway in CRL. But here are a lot of other investments in CRL, and I think that the EU will consider that its objections remain valid for those investments.

Let's see how they will react to the latest letter of the Walloon government.

[airazurxtror]

Yes, but it was that hoax that first prompted the European Commission to investigate about CRL, and, whilst at it, about the whole lot of planned investments - the alleged new runway being the main one.
As said Cloquet on the RTBF news this evening : a second runway is impossible, short of razing half of Ransart.

[Boeing767copilot]

Wizz Air today announced the 4th aircraft for its Bulgarian base at Sofia airport. The new Airbus A320 aircraft will be delivered in Sofia in May 2014.

The new aircraft will support operations of a total of 16 Sofia routes and increase seat capacity by 30% resulting in over 1.1 million seats. This shows that low fares lead to tourism and job creation and stimulate business with foreign markets as consumers really want access to low cost air travel. Wizz Air announced more weekly flights on the existing services to Brussels Charleroi, Eindhoven, London Luton and Milan Bergamo. The 4th aircraft will also support the summer operation of the earlier announced Dubai route, which starts operating with 3 frequencies on 29 October and a new route to Malmo Scandinavia which will be operated two times per week from 16 May 2014. Seats on the new Sofia route are already on sale from incredible BGN 59.99* and can be booked on wizzair.com.

[crlhub]

CRL LIS by FR :

http://www.lesoir.be/319601/article/act ... t-lisbonne

L’aéroport de Bruxelles Sud-Charleroi (BSCA) annonce l’ouverture d’une nouvelle ligne vers Lisbonne qui débutera à partir du 26 novembre 2013. Ryanair planifie 4 vols par semaine.
Lisbonne est la 20ième capitale desservie depuis BSCA et la deuxième nouvelle destination de l’après saison que la compagnie ajoute à son réseau de Bruxelles Sud Charleroi. La ligne vers Comiso, en Sicile sera inaugurée demain mardi 17 septembre.
***
De luchthaven van Brussel Zuid Charleroi (BSCA) kondigt vandaag aan dat Ryanair met ingang van 26 november a.s. een lijndienst opent naar de Portugese hoofdstad Lissabon. De luchtvaartmaatschappij plant 4 wekelijkse vluchten.
Lissabon is de 20e hoofdstad die direct wordt aangevlogen vanaf BSCA en de 2e nieuwe bestemming voor het naseizoen. Morgen, dinsdag 17 september wordt de lijndienst naar Comiso op Sicilië ingehuldigd.

bsca

[Charlie Roy]

Lisbon Schedule:

Tuesdays:
CRL - LIS: 1230 - 1410
LIS - CRL: 1435 - 1815

Thursdays:
CRL - LIS: 0640 - 0820
LIS - CRL: 0845 - 1225

Saturdays:
CRL - LIS: 0725 - 0905
LIS - CRL: 0930 - 1310

Sundays:
CRL - LIS: 1105 - 1245
LIS - CRL: 1310 - 1650

http://www.lowcostportugal.net/viajar/a ... z2f5vdH2cY

[Charlie Roy]

Corrected Lisbon schedule:
-T-T-SS
CRL - LIS: 0640 - 0820
LIS - CRL: 0845 - 1225

[crlhub]

Easyjet announces today LUXLIS 3x weekly:

Lot of competition in sight for TP.

http://www.air-journal.fr/2013-09-18-ea ... 84503.html

[crlhub]

New shopping area:

http://telesambre.rtc.be/content/view/18326/166/

[Boeing767copilot]

No extra tax for Walloon airports passengers

Dutch: http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/996/Econom ... nair.dhtml

French: http://messagent.roulartamail.be/optiex ... 5o1sWHKOQh

[crlhub]

Thomas cook airlines from CRL next summer:

http://www.lalibre.be/economie/actualit ... d7dba241d6

[crlhub]

PEGASUS AIRLINES KIEST VOOR BSCA!
Luchtvaartmaatschappij start met dagelijkse vluchten in maart.
Tickets zijn vanaf nu on-line beschikbaar vanaf €34,99 enkele reis Brussel Zuid Charleroi naar Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen. De eerste vlucht zal plaatsvinden op 30 maart 2014.
Vanaf Sabiha Gökçen biedt Pegasus 33 bestemmingen aan waarvan maar liefst 21 steden in Turkije.
http://www.flypgs.com

PEGASUS AIRLINES CHOISIT BSCA !
Le nouveau client arrive en mars 2014

Pegasus Airlines commencera le 30 mars prochain une liaison quotidienne vers Istanbul.
Les billets d’avion de BSCA vers Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen sont dès à présent en vente à.p.d. €34,99 aller-simple, sur le site http://www.flypgs.com
Pegasus propose depuis l’aéroport de Sabiha Gökçen un éventail de 33 destinations dont un réseau de 21 villes turques.

http://www.rtbf.be/info/regions/detail_ ... id=8104520


No link in English available for the moment ..

[sn26567]

Pegasus is the second largest airline in Turkey, and their expansion is comparable to that of THY, although at a smaller scale.

Their future route from CRL to IST will enable passengers to connect to a variety of unusual destinations: Teheran (Iran), Doha (Qatar), Dubai, Krasnodar (Russia), Donetsk (Ukraine), Tbilissi (Georgia), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Beirut (Lebanon) and no less than 21 airports in Turkey, like Ankara, Bodrum, Diyarbakir or Izmir.

Their modern fleet currently comprises 38 B737-800s and a single remaining B737-400. It has ordered 58 A320NEO and 17 A321NEO for delivery in 2015-2016.

[eurojet]

great, all my professional destinations, and avoiding the hell on earth called Kamal Ataturk Airport ...

[crew1990]

Pegasus will keep flying from BRU too or only CRL?

Anyway, congratulation CRL, 2 new operator within one week!!

[RoMax]

Pegasus will keep flying from BRU too or only CRL?

Seems they are moving. Brussels Airport reacted quite angry that once again the Walloon subsidy system achieved in stealing passengers(/an airline) from BRU with tax money.

[crew1990]

I know that for foreign country, Charleroi is one of the airport of Brussels, however. we have a big turkish community in Charleroi, but in Brussels too so I think that it wouldn't be bad for pegasus to keep flying from BRU and add 3/4 fight from CRL.