Airport News
A private firm is now operating air traffic services at five more airports in Sweden to add to the four it is already running.
Aviation Capacity Resources (ACR) now operates control towers at Kalmar, Jönköping, Norrköping, Karlstad and Skellefteå after it won the joint procurement contracts last year.
ACR now runs air traffic services at nine out the country’s 36 airports, including Västerås, Växjö, Örebro, and Trollhättan.
Services were deregulated in Sweden in 2010, when the new Swedish Civil Aviation Act came into force, giving airport owners the opportunity to procure local air traffic services after previously being run by state owned operator LFV.
Wilhelm Wohlfahrt, CEO at ACR, says: “The takeover is the largest we have done so far and the implementation has been successful.
“We have the air traffic controllers in the five control towers and our good preparations to thank and have more than doubled our business and grew to about 65 employees over night and it has only been positive reactions to it.
“The savings that competitive bidding means may be crucial for smaller and medium sized airports survival.
“This is extremely important as regional Swedish airports are a significant feature of Swedish enterprise and plays a central role for all people who live outside the metropolitan areas.”
ACR leads both civil and military flights and meets the same safety requirements as other certified providers in Europe.
Deregulation of air traffic services has given Swedish airports the opportunity to develop airports without asking municipal or government owners for support, while strengthening competitiveness for air traffic services is cheaper for the airlines.
Robert Lindberg, general manager at Skellefteå Airport, says: “The change to the new operator has gone very well and we are very satisfied.
“Besides better economy we think it is good to have a new supplier who can look at opportunities for improvement and coordination with other activities with new eyes.”
