Europe’s airports look to 2026’s opportunities amidst a landscape of critical challenges

This week, aviation leaders from across the industry gathered to reconvene after the Christmas break and assess their priorities for the year ahead. Opening the ACI EUROPE’s annual New Year reception, ACI EUROPE President and CEO of Fraport Stefan Schulte warned that Europe is facing a decisive moment for aviation, urging EU policymakers to provide regulatory certainty, unlock investment and align ambition with operational reality – in order to protect connectivity, competitiveness, and the passenger experience. 

Explaining that the European Union is facing “an unprecedented succession of critical tests that threaten Europe’s global position,” Schulte stressed that “we cannot address today’s challenges with yesterday’s tools.” 

Against this backdrop, Europe’s airports called for: 

• A stable, predictable, and innovation-friendly regulatory framework 
• Revision of airport slots rules in the EU and the UK, as recommended by the Draghi report,
• Accelerated action to address market failures in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), including the swift implementation of a robust Book and Claim system as promised within the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP), 
• Realism and operational readiness in the rollout of the Schengen Entry/Exit System, including openness to extending the current transition period, 
• No revision of the Airport Charges Directive, which would risk jeopardising long-term investments through regulatory uncertainty at a critical time for Europe’s airports. 

He also pointed to a newly released analysis by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which shows that the post-COVID era marks “a structurally different long-term cycle” for Europe’s airports, in which airports must “decouple their financial viability and investment capability from pure volume growth” and focus instead on new routes to value creation, supported by a stable regulatory framework.  

Looking forward to 2026, Schulte touched upon the upcoming EU Aviation Strategy, calling for aviation to be repositioned as a core pillar of Europe’s competitiveness agenda.  

Concluding, Schulte emphasised that passengers must remain at the centre of every policy choice: “Every regulation we shape, every investment we unlock, and every reform we secure delivers a better, safer, and more connected Europe. That is not just our responsibility: it is our opportunity.” 

Find out more in the Press Release.
 
Discover the synopsis of the BCG study here.