FRANCE. Nice Côte d’Azur Airport confirmed last week that its application to extend Terminal 2 has been approved by the Administrative Court of Marseille, paving the way for the next phase of development at the location. The Court accepted the application in terms of “its necessity and [the airport’s] integration into a low-carbon strategy”.
The news was announced by Nice Côte d’Azur Airport Chairman of the Management Board Franck Goldnadel, during its traditional cocktail party on the beach at Palais Stéphanie Beach, Boulevard de la Croisette, at TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes. The event was co-hosted by airport Chief Commercial Officer Candice Cadreils.
The terminal will incorporate a sustainable design, adhering to strict environmental standards, including the use of renewable energy to cool public spaces by using natural ventilation and free cooling at night. This will be combined with the inertia of the building, bio-based materials, such as wooden floors from sustainably managed forests and materials with low environmental impact – low emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
Goldnadel said: “There are lots of people who criticise the airline companies and alongside our efforts to extend the airport with Terminal 2 we continue to have discussions on how we can reduce carbon emissions in our goal to be carbon neutral by 2030.
“We are trying to find a solution of tackling the challenge between supporting climate change as well as driving the economic development and success of the airport.”
In terms of volumes, the extension of Terminal 2 will increase the capacity of the airport to around 18 million passengers, 1.75 million more than in 2019. Some 36% are residents and 24% are frequent travellers, mainly for work purposes, which contradicts the idea of “over tourism” by limiting the number of new travellers to less than one million over 12 months, said the company.
Goldnadel emphasised how in 2021, Nice Côte d’Azur Airport was the first airport in France to achieve Airport Carbon Accreditation level 4+, the most demanding standard, acting on the reduction of its emissions.
It has also announced measures to accelerate the reduction of aircraft emissions when approaching, taxiing or taking off from the airport. It is working with the entire sector to facilitate innovation and the development of low carbon solutions in the air, by means of electric aviation or the integration of bio-fuel. This ambitious policy extends the sector’s efforts, measurable by the reduction of -20% of CO2 emissions per passenger for five years, during the approach and take-off phase (LTO cycle, for landing and take-off).
At Cannes, Cadreils, who started in the role in July, taking over from Filip Soete, said the airport served 14.5 million passengers in 2019.
She said the adaptation of Terminal 2 will ultimately allow passengers passing through the airport to benefit from the best passenger experience and safety conditions.
Cadreils said: “Nice Airport is well situated just in front of the sea. It’s a compact international airport and thanks to its size, it offers a short, quick and easy access for passengers to reach their terminal gate, while enjoying beautiful seaviews and travelling to quality destinations. Today, since the end of the lockdown due to the Covid pandemic we have the green light to expand Terminal 2 and since 2022 people are looking forward to travelling again.
“Above all else, the retail offering is one of a global nature which includes quality shopping, luxury brands and locally produced products. It allows the passenger to have a unique and authentic experience.”
Nice Cote d’Azur Airport claims it has been at the forefront when it comes to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. It was the first airport in France to achieve carbon neutrality by means of offsetting in 2016. In 2020, it made a commitment to achieve neutrality without any offsetting before 2030, by integrating the Terminal 2 extension project into its calculations.
Goldnadel added: “When I spoke to you a year ago, it was difficult to predict what would happen at the airport, due to the Covid situation, but collectively I am proud to say our global travel retail clients offered us their support and we reopened Terminal 1 in March this year. Thanks to this we were able to sufficiently prepare for the present and future incoming traffic.
“We have seen a dynamic return of activity, where we see travellers once again have a desire to travel, and thanks to the continued loyalty from the airline companies we have done a lot of work behind the scenes and remained in discussions with these airline firms. We are happy to say that Nice remains an attractive airport, for international and domestic travel. We will continue to innovate and we believe 2023 will be an even better year for us. Despite the looming energy crisis, rising inflation costs and the increasing price of tickets for flights our customers are still with us and we remain positive on what’s to come.
“It’s true we were touched by Covid, and the war in Ukraine, which had an effect on traffic, in particular in retail, with also flights to and from Russia suspended. We hope the geopolitical situation will be resolved in 2023 with a diplomatic solution and we thank our customers for your resilience and determination in accompanying us in this return to activity, despite the difficulty in recruitment, logistics and supply chain.”
