The question arises whether the privatization of airports is actually advantageous

For many decades, the construction, operation and financing of airports in Germany were almost exclusively in the hands of the state. Even today, most airports are still mostly or completely owned by the public sector. In particular, the sector-specific regulation of the state is opposed to a comprehensive privatization, which focuses on the special importance of theairports within the framework of general interest.

Deregulation and privatization: opportunities and concerns

The discussion about further deregulation of the German airport sector is characterized by the frequently existing natural monopoly. Large-scale privatizations are viewed critically, as there are doubts as to whether private investors can make the necessary advance and expansion investments. Even politically liberally-appointed actors emphasize these challenges.Nevertheless, the international trend towards privatization has also made itself felt in Germany in recent decades.

Competitive pressure and liberalization as a driver of change

The steadily increasing passenger volume and the progressive liberalization of global air transport have significantly intensified competition between airports. Proponents of privatization emphasize that as a result, German airports are under increasing pressure to continuously increase their performance and efficiency. They argue that the German aviation sectorcan only remain competitive in the long term by increasing the participation of private investors. The monopoly-like provision of airport services by the state is therefore increasingly being questioned.

Political course for privatization

The black and yellow federal government at the time, which was published in 1994, already committed to a consistent privatization of the federal shares in airports in the “Aviation Concept 2000”, which was published in 1994. From a regulatory point of view, it is called for consistently running airports in private organizational forms such as GmbHs or joint stock companies. especially given the need for fasterAnd cost-intensive expansion investments seems to be a sensible way to relieve public budgets and integrate urgently needed management know-how. Partial privatizations have so far been mainly focused on economically strong airports such as Frankfurt am Main, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover and Mönchengladbach.

Practical implementation: milestones of privatization

In 1997, Düsseldorf International Airport marked a milestone as Germany’s first partially-private airport when 50 percent of the state shares were sold to a private consortium. In the years that followed, the airports of Hanover and Hamburg were also partially privatized. Frankfurt Airport experienced a special form of privatization in 2001 its IPO and the founding of Fraport AG, which is internationally active today.

Perspectives for future development

Regardless of the different models and arrangements of privatization, it can be seen that the trend towards private-sector airports in Germany is expected to continue for many years. The growing demands on efficiency and competitiveness, as well as the tense public budget situation, continue to speak for a stronger oneIntegration of private investors and management structures in the German airport operations.