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Ugo Maillard
Published on
22 nov. 2024 at 5:54 pm
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During an exchange at the Isère departmental council, elected officials and their opponents had a lively exchange about the operation of Grenoble airport, located in the commune of Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs .
For elected environmentalists, the Public service delegation and the Department’s grants are “errors in substance and form”.
What future for the airport? What implication for the department of Isère? What amounts committed? Elements of response.
“Not a good use of public money”
Thierry Badouard, opposition departmental advisor in the Isère Écologie et Solidarités group, is opposed to the renewal of the Public Service Delegation in 2026 in Vinci.
What is a Public Service Delegation?
A Public Service Delegation (DSP) is a contract by which a public legal entity entrusts the management of a public service for which it is responsible to a public or private delegate, and whose remuneration is linked to the result of the operation of the service. For the airport, it is the Department which entrusts it to Vinci.
“I don’t think renewing a contract for 10 years is a good thing. The airport's activity is in deficit, however, the Department continues to finance the site to the tune of two million per year,” indicates the elected environmentalist.
This is not a good use of public money for the next ten years. The tool itself can be used, but in another way.
An airport that benefits the people of Isère?
For the opposition elected official, it is inconceivable to finance “tourist charters with the money of the people of Isère”. Thierry Badouard goes further and puts forward the figure of 30% of passengers landing in Saint-Etienne-de-Saint-Geoirs who remain on Isère soil. “There is no reason for the people of Isère to finance an airport with regional scope.”
“Tourists go to Alpe d’Huez and Deux Alpes which are already functioning resorts,” continues the elected green.
I think that if the English land at Lyon Saint-Exupéry, it won't make a big difference to them.
Asked whether or not he wants to permanently close Grenoble Alpes Isère airport, Thierry Badouard prefers to “think about another use… to be defined”.
“Economic interests for the department”
For the LR majority of the department, there is no doubt, “the airport has a future”. “We are not at all considering calling into question the airport's DSP since its activity represents economic interests for the department,” says Sandrine Martin-Grand, vice-president of the departmental council.
Apart from the tourist attraction and the income it generates, the elected official mentions the creation of jobs linked to the operation of the airport.
On the question of the low percentage of Isère passengers, the vice-president of Isère recognizes that the airport benefits European tourists more, but welcomes the “additional service provided to certain Isère residents”.
“Not linked to the future of ski resorts”
If the Public Service Delegation is indeed renewed in 2026, the department commits to 10 years of operation. A period during which the department will allocate around two million euros per year for the operation of the airport.
An amount committed that is not at a loss. “Operation is not linked to the future of ski resorts. We can imagine a lifespan that will be longer
If airport activity stops, I'm not sure it will ever restart.
The vice-president of the Isère departmental council lists the development avenues in the years to come.
“We have the significant presence of the National School of Civil Aviation which could expand. We could also imagine the development of a summer activity. Despite everything, the delegatee (Editor's note: Vinci) makes his choices with his own economic interests in mind. »
Debates around the future of the airport will be held at the Isère departmental council in 2025.
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