Air transport plays a crucial role in the integration and the competitiveness of the European Union. The existence of an airport in a given region increases its connectivity. Moreover, it can also have a beneficial impact on local economies as well as foster cohesion within the EU. In this context, it should be pointed out that the total costs of creation of a new airport are enormous, whereas the prospects of profitability of such investment are unsure. In practice, the construction or modernization of airports are generally financed with public funds as it is very difficult to find a suitable private investor. As a result, the issue of State aid is of great importance when it comes to investments in airport infrastructure. The public funding intended for constructing or modernizing of airports located within the European Union has to comply with the EU State aid rules. The most important rules in this respect are the following: Article 107 TFEU and Commission’s guidelines concerning State aid in the aviation sector. In 2014 the European Commission adopted new Guidelines on State aid to airports and airlines (hereinafter as ‘2014 Aviation Guidelines’), which replaced the previous guidelines from 2005 (hereinafter as ‘2005 Aviation Guidelines’).
The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the new compatibility criteria for investment aid to airports set out in 2014 Aviation Guidelines, pointing to the modifications made as compared with the 2005 Aviation Guidelines. This will allow to determine the proper understanding of the various conditions for granting State aid for airport infrastructure and address the interpretative doubts related to them.
