Deprived of a control tower, Quimper airport will have to stand on its own two feet

Is there a future without a control tower at Quimper-Pluguffan airport? This is the thorny question facing the Quimper Airport Operation and Local Action Company (Sealaq) since the announcement by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) of the closure of services air navigation control at the tip of southern Finistère. The Quimper platform is not the only one to bear the brunt of an in-depth reorganization of this state service in France. According to a union source, around thirty regional airports would be affected by this measure.

“Alternative solutions under study”

Contacted, Jean-François Garrec, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), confirms the DGAC's decision. This Thursday, November 28, the latter was also in telephone contact with Damien Cazé, the director of the DGAC to assess the consequences of such a decision. On October 21, the president of the CCI had already visited the premises of the DGAC in Paris while such a scenario was taking shape in the Quimper skies. “We believe in the future of this equipment,” insists Jean-François Garrec, who does not avoid the questions raised by this measure, particularly in terms of security and the financial impact. “This disengagement of the State does not mean that air traffic is no longer possible in Quimper. There are alternative solutions that we are currently studying.” This central point will be on the agenda of the Sealag strategic council which is to be held on December 4 with the shareholders.

“The business aviation project is not called into question”

Since the cessation of regular connections in November 2023, the Quimper delegation of the Chamber of Commerce (CCI) of Finistère has sought to create and develop business aviation between Quimper and Paris through the action of Sealag. In the name of opening up, this project mobilizes part of the local economic fabric. Several shareholders, including billionaire Vincent Bolloré and Jacques Verlingue, participated in this first investor round. “This project is not called into question,” affirms the president of the CCI. Jean-François Garrec reminds us that the ambition of the equipment must take other forms. This is the spirit of the “aéropôle” which should, in the long term, bring together carbon-free aviation activities, companies linked to aeronautics and energy production on the Quimper tarmac, owned by the Brittany Region.