NIL: It seems to me that way too many people, including local government, private companies and the general “public”, have completely lost touch with one very basic and fundamental precept:
Airports, by & large, are PUBLIC USE PROPERTY built & paid for with tax money. They are just like public parks and roads.
Handing over the keys to private entities so they can rip-off users is a crime.
Michael wrote:
Airports, by & large, are PUBLIC USE PROPERTY built & paid for with tax money. They are just like public parks and roads.
Hear hear. Yes, that is indeed the idea.
Michael wrote:
Handing over the keys to private entities so they can rip-off users is a crime.
It may be unless the country in question decides that they can do that. Which means the government doing something like this and not preventing abuse of monopoly rights have either lost the same touch or are so much dependent on other countries who in fact dictate to them what they MUST do or else that they are in fact only a puppet government with other countries pulling the strings. In Greece we all know why something like the FRAPORT scandal was possible and why all their other assetts are being sold off. They are in fact a country under occupation and therefore being dictated terms by the Troika and the involved governments.
Clearly Fraport does not give a fart about GA or rather they hate GA with a passion. And those Greek politicians who might have still something to say in the matter have much bigger fish to fry than a couple of GA pilots not coming. Looking at how Heraklion airport for instance looks like even in May, they have how many millions of tourists vs and let’s be optimistic 1000 people per year who reach Greece by small GA.
Unless the European Court rules this practice illegal nothing will happen. And I have not heard a lot from the folks who wanted to launch a lawsuit against the abuse.
…and these are the qualities of a failed state where institutions dont exist any more.We started 45 years ago with arrogant populism i.e.“power to the people”.Then we proceeded with continous downgrading of education where grades or absence or behaviour didnt matter anymore.Nepotism and political protegees inflated the public sector leading to incompetence,arrogance,indifference and corruption.Common burglars,pedophiles and rapists remain in position with a “weak” state and a shy Police hesitating to implement what in Botswana is implemented.Local and imported anarchists literary “command” the everyday life of Athens and Thessaloniki.
It was a timebomb waiting to explode.Todays airport arrogance reflects the same Soviet arrogance and disfunctions of previous years.The only change is the 20fold increase of charges.
YES,I dont fly anymore and I am VERY HAPPY.I believe every Greek GA person is down the same maelstrom.A few UL pilots still survive,operating from field to field.
MedFlyer wrote:
YES,I dont fly anymore and I am VERY HAPPY.
Really? You are happy? I would be livid if my own country would limit my freedom this much. And consider whether it still IS a place I’d want to live. From the people I met in Crete, many told me that the biggest ambition they have for their kids is for them to emigrate.
I suspect most young people in Greece would rather emigrate, and this has always been the case with most of Greece already living in the USA and elsewhere 
I also think Medflyer is enjoying the lack of constant hassle. That sort of thing has a very corrosive effect on enjoyment. I gave up water-skiing because the club disintegrated and the new lake owners forced everyone to use one remote jetty which was almost inaccessible from anywhere where one could park. I gave up windsurfing due to similar hassle-related reasons. If Shoreham closed I would probably give up flying (if I was unable to set up a strip somewhere, regardless of cost).
If Shoreham closed I would probably give up flying (if I was unable to set up a strip somewhere, regardless of cost).
That hardly can be valid reason for giving up flying Valid reasons are finances, loosing medical, war and similar.
Emir wrote:
That hardly can be valid reason for giving up flying.
I’ve occasionally thought about what I would do if my airfield closed. (It is not about to, but the property is leased from the city and there is no guarantee they will renew the lease when it expires)
Right now, I have 25 minutes travel time (one way, by car) to the airport. The nearest realistic alternate airport is more than one hour away. I wouldn’t quit flying but I would certainly need to plan differently.
Same for me – 15 mins versus Biggin Hill at 1:20. No more local flights once a week. That takes a lot of value out of GA. One then may as well buy a Jetprop
At least it is good that they (FRAPort) are being called out in a somewhat official meeting.
If the topic of the conference indeed was “aerotourism”, I hope all understood Fraport is killing it (flying commercial at FL340 does not qualify in my mind).
Arne
My guess is that 99% of the FRAport management have never ventured outside their office and the 10% that have only think in terms of airliners.
The happenings at Kefallonia are a prime example of a management that does not understand the business. Prior to FRAport the ramp markings consisted of six small spots that the nose wheels of an airliner was positioned onto by a marshaller , FRAport took over and pained lots of lines on the ramp at great expense and employed a bloke in a 4×4 to oversee ramp operations………… two years on the pragmatic Greeks have returned to using the parking spots and the myriad of painted lines are ignored……… but the bloke is still driving around in the 4×4.
When a company so fails to understand its primary ( airline ) business its little wonder that they fail to understand that they can use GA to enhance their revenue if they price the product appropriately. Not only do they not understand GA but I would guess that 99% of the management don’t know it exists and the 1% who do are forced to charge airline like fees because there is no mechanism within the company to do anything else.
