THE EVENT 

This will be ACI EUROPE’s 5th conference and exhibition dedicated to regional airports. The Regional Airports’ Forum group’s prime objective is to represent the interests of ACI EUROPE’s regional airport members to the European institutions and national authorities. It is focussing on increasing the visibility of the important contribution that regional airports make to the connectivity of Europe’s regions, the mobility of its citizens and the economic performance of their communities, as well as addressing their specific challenges.

The purpose of the Forum is to better address the specific needs of ACI EUROPE’s regional airport members, and to provide them with a more visible platform on which to exchange knowledge, share best practices and discuss issues of common interest.

THE HOST

ACI EUROPE is the voice of Europe’s airports, representing over 400 airports in 46 European countries. Our members handle 90% of commercial air traffic in Europe, welcoming nearly 1.5 billion passengers, over 17 million tonnes of freight and over 20 million aircraft movements each year. Based in Brussels, we lead and serve the European airport industry and maintain strong links with other ACI regions throughout the world.

Our membership is comprised of airport operators of all sizes, along with national airport associations, educational establishments and World Business Partners. Working together in an active association to ensure effective communication and negotiation with legislative, commercial, technical, environmental, passenger and other interests.

ACI EUROPE is the European trade body for airports and as such, is also the European region of Airports Council International, the only global federation of airport operators. ACI EUROPE is based in Brussels, Belgium and employs 17 permanent staff, under the leadership of Director General Olivier Jankovec. Through regular contact with more than 300 airport experts, ACI EUROPE promotes the exchange of industry-know-how through our internal committee structure and extensive schedule of conferences and exhibitions.

We also work on a day-to-day basis with the institutions of the European Union, and are engaged in important work on the environment, airport capacity, air passenger rights, airport charges, ground handling, slot allocation and airport competition.

To visit ACI EUROPE’s website go to www.aci-europe.org

THE AIRPORT HOST

Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is located just 20 km from Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, and within a two-hour drive from Italy, Austria, Croatia and the North Adriatic ports (Koper, Trieste, Rijeka), it provides an EU gateway to south-east European and Middle East markets. The airport is managed by Aerodrom Ljubljana, a joint-stock company.

As the airport operator and ground handling supplier, the company provides:

• Operation and development of airport infrastructure and passenger terminal including centralised infrastructures;

• Groundhandling services (traffic, ramp and cargo handling);

• Security services;

• Commercial activities through various concessions for retail and catering, real estate, car parking, warehouse and logistics and other services.

We ended previous year with nearly 1,4 million passengers and 42,5 thousand aircraft movements. Ljubljana Aerodrom's business policy was, and remains, development orientated. We constantly seek out opportunities in markets that are not yet covered. And we also engage in a competitive struggle in the firm conviction that it will yield benefits in terms of progress and improvements in business activities.

In the last decade, the airport was completely renovated and reorganised. Airport users will remember past few years by the completion of the first phase of construction on the new passenger terminal, the excellent business performance (though negatively affected by economic crises since 2009), radical changes in transport technology that lead to new operations procedures. There were new achievements in practically all areas but we want to stress out the following:

We put the biggest emphasis to better services for passengers. In 2007 we opened new 6,000 sq.m. departures area, i.e. the first phase of future Terminal 2 building with four boarding bridges. Passengers take benefit of more space and have greater retail and catering choice. The construction enabled us to also fulfil the Schengen requirements. New car park in the northern side of the airport area was built, taxiway was extended to the full runway length and partially renewed. The main apron, where we added five parking spaces intended for larger aircrafts, was extended and refurbished. In 2009 and 2010 the renovation of the take-off/landing runaway measuring 3,300 m in length and 60 m in width was undertaken. The main capital project of next few years, which is supposed to be concluded by May 2015, is going to be the construction of the second phase of the new passenger terminal T2.

We are aware that our development also has effects on the environment that are not always positive. We are devoting greater attention to continuously reduce the harmful impacts of our core activities on the environment. That is why the new Environmental Manual was adopted. It defines our environmental policy and the environmental management system, and enables us to implement and maintain that system, which covers essential environmental issues and their impact. It also allows us to set appropriate environmental objectives, targets and programmes.

We manage the quality of operations and the risk of errors in providing services through consistent observance of the standards both for the airport as an infrastructural facility (standards of the ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organisation) and for ground operations (standards of the International Air Transport Association, IATA). We also have regular internal self-audits.

Meanwhile the provision of constantly high-quality ground operation services for passengers and cargo is also very closely monitored at regular intervals by the carriers themselves. The feedback from carriers on checks carried out in recent years has been favourable and confirms the quality of our services. Also, in order to improve our services for passengers we regularly monitor their needs and satisfaction.

More on Aerodrom Ljubljana at www.lju-airport.si