Lux-Airport: Skypark Business Centre, Tram Extension, Hotel on Schedule

On Monday 27 May 2024, the China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ChinaLux) held an evening seminar at the Hôtel Le Royal in Luxembourg city centre on the topic of the development of Luxembourg Airport.

The event was organised to explain the goals of the current construction works being undertaken at the airport, and was supported by Lux-Airport, EY and China Construction Bank; around 120 members and guests attended the popular event.

Jacques Bortuzzo, Vice President of ChinaLux, delivered a welcome speech in which he stated that an airport is key to the development of a city and a country; it is a hub for economic development, with Luxembourg airport being no different. He also mentioned the chamber's upcoming AGM in June.

Alexander Flassak, CEO of Lux-Airport, presented the development of Luxembourg Airport and explained that he would cover the history, present and future of Luxembourg airport. In the 1930s, the areas was used as an airfield and commercial activities started in 1945; today it is one of the fastest growing airports in the world and has one of the largest cargo hubs in the heart of Europe.

Luxembourg Airport currently serves 120 direct destinations with sixteen airlines (excluding charters), with a strong focus on business travel.

Regarding passenger numbers, "we were drastically affected by the pandemic": in 2023, the airport recovered to 4.8 million passengers, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. In answer to a question from the audience, he confirmed that the passenger capacity was originally 4.5 million; he said that they could restrict the number of (arrival/departure) slots, and argued that many airlines want similar time slots which he explained causes peak-time delays.

For cargo, during the pandemic it exceeded its maximum capacity of 1 million tonnes of cargo, with a recent return to pre-pandemic levels.

Another question from the audience referred to parking: he confirmed that 700 additional parking pays are becoming available this year.

While Luxair is the largest airline at the airport, Ryanair, EasyJet and Lufthansa carry the 2nd, 3rd and 4th largest number of passengers. In December, China Eastern Airline started direct flights from Luxembourg to China.

On its infrastructure, Terminal A opened in 2008, the Cargo Centre opened with the Luxair maintenance hangar to be handed over later in 2024; the airport city development project is ongoing with the Skypark Business Centre becoming increasingly visible. The runway refurbishment took 280 nights between April and October in 2021 and 2022, to be completed: it is 370 m long and comprises five underground storeys, a ground floor mall and six office storeys over 170,000 m2 - it is the largest wooden building (with concrete floors) in Europe and is BREEAM certified. It is a land-side extension of the terminal and will be directly linked. The MOXY hotel (part of the Marriott group) will open in August this year.

Also, later this year, a new Fuel Farm will be constructed with six tanks each holding 5,000 m3 of fuel.

The extension to the LuxTram line is expected to be operational in 2025 Q1, with the journey time to LuxExpo being just six minutes. The tram stop will be directly outside the passenger terminal.

He conceded that, due to the roadworks around the tram, etc., there are sometimes when there are traffic jams outside the airport. The roundabout on the Rue de Treves will have traffic lights in the future too.

On the environment and sustainability, he stated that the airport will be Nett Zero by 2030 (it has been carbon neutral since 2001). It will have wind turbines (Wind by Roof) and solar panels on airport building rooves. A question from the audience addressed noise pollution: he said that he sees a positive development with airlines investing in new aircraft types which are quieter. He also confirmed that, while passenger numbers are higher than in 2019, the number of plane movements has decreased.

The event concluded with a cocktail reception.