PROGRAMME

Tuesday 25 April 2023

09.00 – 17.00

Meeting of the ACI EUROPE Regional Airport’s Forum, Avra Imperial Hotel
(upon invitation only)

19.30 – 22.00

Welcome reception by the pool, Avra Imperial Hotel
Open to all the registered delegates

Welcome addresses:
Nikolaos Kalogeris, Vice Governor of Chania* & Dimitrios Fragakis, General Secretary, Hellenic Tourism Organisation
Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE

Wednesday 26 April 2023
ACI EUROPE 14th REGIONAL AIRPORTS CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION Day 1

Conference Chair: John Strickland, Director, JLS Consulting

08.00 – 09.00

Welcome and refreshments on arrival in the exhibition area

09.00 – 10.30

Opening Session

  • Welcome Address by the Conference Chair
  • Welcome Address from the Host:
    Alexander Zinell, Chief Executive Officer, Fraport Greece
  • The Regional Airport Industry Address:
    Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE
  • Welcome Address from the ACI EUROPE Regional Airports’ Forum:
    Marco Pernetta, Chair, ACI EUROPE Regional Airport Forum & Chief Executive Officer, Innsbruck Airport
  • The Interview: Walter Goetz, Head of Commissioner Valean’s Cabinet, interviewed by Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE

10.30 – 11.00

Special Addresses

  • Stavros Arnaoutakis, Governor of Crete*
  • Panagiotis Symandirakis, Mayor of Chania

11.00 – 11.30

Networking coffee break in the exhibition area

11.30 – 12.00

Hard Talk:  Discussion on Decarbonisation

  • Moderator: Marylin Bastin, Head of Aviation Sustainability, Eurocontrol
  • Michal Nowak, Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, Embraer
  • Simon Newitt, Chief Commercial Officer, Heart Aerospace

12.00 – 13.00

Panel Discussion: The Future of Regional Connectivity – Doom or Boom?

Regional airports constitute the core of the European transport network, with a dense tissue that provides connectivity and transportation options to towns, rural, remote, and outermost regions. Despite a dynamic recovery of air traffic following the lifting of travel restrictions, in 2022 air connectivity across the European network remained -29% below 2019 levels. How will regional airports develop their route network in the future?

Scene setting: Chris Davis, Principal, OXERA

Panelists:

  • Jan Palmer, Chief Executive Officer, XFLY & Chair of ERA
  • Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director, Cork Airport *
  • Laila Odina, Chairperson of the Board, Riga International Airport
  • Dominik Piotrowski, Deputy Head of Unit, DG Mobility and Transport, European Commission
  • Manolis Giannoulis, President of the Board of Directors, Chania Hoteliers Association
  • Pepi Lykou, Head of Airport Economic Regulation, Greek Civil Aviation Authority

13.00 – 14.15

Networking lunch in the exhibition area

14.15 – 15.00

Panel Discussion: Making It Work: Operational and Resilience Challenges

Moderator: Max Schintlmeister, Managing Director, Airport Excellence

Proposed panelists:

  • Marco Verga, HR Director, Bologna Airport & Vice-Chair, ACI EUROPE Leadership & HR Forum
  • Vasiliki Christidi, Group General Manager, AVIAREPS
  • Natasa Iacovides, Senior Manager Human Resources & Executive Coach, Hermes Airports & Chair, ACI EUROPE Leadership and HR Forum

15.00 – 15.25

Hard Talk: R&D and Digitalisation moderated by Bert Verschuren, Senior Aviation Business, Consultant, SITA

Dialogue between Pablo Lopez Loeches, Head of Technological Surveillance, Aena and Alison Fitzgerald, Chief Operating Officer, London City Airport

15.25 – 16.00

Networking coffee break in the exhibition area

16.00 – 16.50

Panel discussion: How to Finance It

Due to cost structure and diseconomies of scale, regional airports need to explore new ways to increase revenue and fund their operations and decarbonisation efforts. In a context of less national, European and international funding, how will regional airports face these new challenges?   

Scene setting: Nikos Nezeritis, Head of Structured Finance Division, Alpha Bank 

Moderator : Ruud Ummels, Managing Director, To70

Panellists:

  • Andrea Andorno, Chief Executive Officer, Turin Airport
  • Vangelis Baltas, Chief Financial Officer, Fraport Greece
  • Henrik Morch, Director of State Aid, DG Competition, European Commission
  • Drummond Clark, Vice-President, IFM Investors
  • Nikos Nezeritis, Head of Structured Finance Division, Alpha Bank

16.50 – 17.40

The View From The Top – Where Do We Go From Here?

Moderator: John Strickland, Director, JLS Consulting

  • Alexander Zinell, Chief Executive Officer, Fraport Greece
  • Marylin Bastin, Head of Aviation Sustainability, Eurocontrol
  • Walter Goetz, Head of Commissioner Valean’s Cabinet
  • Jan Palmer, Chief Executive Officer, XFLY & Chair, ERA
  • Dimitrios Gerogiannis, Chief Executive Officer, Aegean Airlines

17.40 – 17.45

Concluding Remarks by the Conference Chair and Official End of the Programme

19.00

Transport to Chania

19.45

Walking Tour of Chania

20.30 – 22.30

Gala evening, venue to be confirmed

Thursday 27 April 2023

09.30 – 10.00

Networking coffee

10.00 – 12.00

Concurrent workshops

  1. Route Development

    George Karamanos, Managing Director, KPI Aviation
    Katerina Pollatou, Airline Marketing & Development Manager, Fraport Greece*
    Haris Filos, Air Service Development Manager, Fraport Greece*

  2. Innovation

    Olivier Mongenie, Airport Programme Manager, SESAR JU
    Alison Fitzgerald, Chief Operating Officer, London City Airport

  3. Employment and social dialogue

    Dimitri Coll, Vice President Airport Customer Experience ǀ ASQ ǀ Strategy & Marketing, ACI World
    Rania Tyril, HR Head, Fraport Greece
    Natasa Iacovides, Senior Manager Human Resources & Executive
    Anelia Dimova, Chief HR Officer, Sofia Airport

12.00 – 13.30

Farewell lunch

13.30

Transport to Airport Tour

14.30 – 15.30

Airport tour

*denotes speaker not yet confirmed