Should we continue to invest in Dole-Jura airport? A collective of associations says “stop” and launches a petition

Faced with the desire of the president of the Jura department to develop activity at Dole-Jura airport, environmentalists took the matter to the administrative court and launched a petition. In addition to the climate question, it is also the question of financing the regional airport that raises questions.

Porto, Bastia, Marrakech, Fez… To these destinations offered by Dole-Jura airport Beautiful photos of the sea, sun and beach are regularly associated. The ultimate relaxation when leaving home. But administratively, for some, Dole-Jura airport is not a dream. Several associations have initiated a contentious appeal before the Administrative Court against the decision of the Jura department to relaunch the activity of this airport by opening new services and doubling the number of flights by 2034, judging this activity particularly impactful for health, the climate and without any real public interest.

“There is always a certain form of protest which is not necessarily negative, because we can question ourselves on this or that phase of the project”, admits Gérôme Fassenet, president (LR) of the Jura department.

A petition to stop airport development

A petition was thuslaunched on the Greenvoice website by several environmental defense associations in order to challenge the president of the Department of Jura and invite him to reconsider a choice considered anachronistic.

The members of the collective suggest taking advantage of the fact that the runway has been seriously degraded since 2018, now at the end of its life, to put an end to public support for the airport platform.

Collective of associations against the development of Dole-Jura airport

Among the initiators and signatories of this petition are Serre Vivante and France Nature Environnement of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Agir Pour l'Environnement, Cyberacteurs, the National Federation of Transport User Associations (Fnaut) of Bourgogne Franche-Comté. County, Friends of the Earth of Côte-d'Or, Greenpeace Dijon, Attac Jura, Confédération Paysanne du Jura, Ecologists of Burgundy Franche-Comté, Ecologists of the Pays Dolois, Dole Ecology, NPA 39, Stay on Earth, ALTERNATIBA Besançon, Non-violent action, COP21 Besançon. But the president of the Jura department persists and signs, for him the development of the airport is necessary.

In addition to the many services it provides us, I hope that this airport will become a real research platform for aeronautics.

Gérôme Fassenet, president (LR) of the Jura department

Transferred to the Jura department in 2007, Dole-Jura airport, formerly Dole-Tavaux, has been the source, for many years, of eternal debates about its profitability and legitimacy. Despite this, according to the president of the department, Dole-Jura airport still has a bright future. “We inherited this equipment and I want to maintain and develop it. It turns out that the parking lot and the terminal have been redone and we are going to redo the runway. Funding is provided by the State, the region and the balance by the Jura department. expresses Gérôme Fassenet, president (LR) of the Jura department.

In the name of the climate emergency

For the associations, the growth of the mode of air transport is not sustainable, neither for the climate, nor for the millions of people victims of noise night and day, and pollution from aircraft. “Despite the slogans of the sector, the silent, carbon-free and non-polluting plane is not for tomorrow. There is therefore no other way in the short and medium term than to put a stop to the growth of air traffic and to gradually reduce it to limit its impacts on both health and climate”.

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Added to this question about the climate is the question of financing this airport. Degraded since 2018, the road surface of the Dole-Jura track must be completely redone on the 2 230 m of its length, rehabilitation work estimated at a minimum of 7.5 million euros.

Last April, the Burgundy Franche-Comté region refused to provide funding for the development of Dole-Jura airport.

We can clearly see that the flights at this airport are only outgoing flights. What is the interest of public finances in financing a model where ultimately the purchasing power of tourists will materialize in Fez, in Bastia, and not here?

Marie-Guite Dufay, president (PS) of the Burgundy Franche-Comté region

France 3, April 2024

Faced with this financial disengagement, elected officials from neighboring metropolises and departments, particularly from the Burgundy region, then rushed to the aid of Clément Pernot, at the time president of the Jura departmental council and owner of the site, with the aim of maintain the development of Dole airport.

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“Today, the department of Saône-et-Loire has already signed to contribute financially to the development of Dole-Jura airport, as well as François Sauvadet for the departmentt of Côte-d’Or and François Rebsamen in his capacity as president of Dijon Métropole,” explains Gérôme Fassenet. As for theState, it had refused for several years to contribute to this renovation, but he announced funding of 2 million euros.

Ecology is obviously our primary concern now let's be honest, it is on the form that we can delay or call into question the decision taken for elected officials, quite simply because a departmental community cannot sign in at the same time a contract with departmental partners and metropolises or urban areas

Pascal Blain, president of Serre Vivante

For those opposed to the airport, international service from the Burgundy Franche-Comté region can be provided from the airports of Lyon, Geneva, Basel or Paris, accessible by rail. “The money from the Jura department must serve other priorities, social and ecological transition !”.

Dole Jura Airport (formerly Dole Tavaux) is the last commercial airport in Burgundy Franche-Comté. In 2023, the airport recorded 125,000 passengers, on 440 regular flights. A figure that has tripled in 10 years.