Developing Sustainability and Safety in Airports and Aviation
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Mr Jobim, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a strange experience for me to be here to talk about aviation and safety while just last week a serious plane crash occurred in the Netherlands, a crash in which nine lives were lost. And yet I see this seminar as a good opportunity to talk to each other about this so very important theme that touches us all: safe, sustainable and competitive aviation.
It is a great pleasure to be with you this morning. This is not my first trip to Brazil. But I am always delighted when I get the opportunity to visit. Not only because I have family ties here, but also because Brazil is such a beautiful and hospitable country.
As a Dutchman, I am also conscious of my country’s historical ties with Brazil.
Not that we have an entirely clean record in Brazil, of course. Setting fire to the city of Olinda, in 1631, is certainly not an achievement to be proud of. But fortunately we also managed to do some other, less harmful things. The Dutch painters Frans Post and Albert Eckhout were the first to capture the beauty of Brazil and show it to Europe. Dutch scholars were the first to make detailed maps of this country. And since the seventeenth century, Dutch entrepreneurs have been contributing to Brazil’s economic development. This is an incredibly dynamic country. With a capital city which is built in the shape of an aeroplane. A fitting symbol, and a perfect location for a conference on aviation.
Mr Jobim, thank you for your presentation and your kind words. I am very impressed with the way that you and your partners at Infraero and ANAC are working to build a safe, efficient and competitive Brazilian aviation sector.
Over the last few days I’ve had a chance to see Brazil’s airports with my own eyes. That is the advantage of having such a busy schedule. And what I find remarkable is the speed at which aviation in Brazil is developing. Everywhere I go, I see new terminals, new air-traffic-control towers and new runways. The sky really is the limit here.
Mr Jobim, you are developing ambitious plans with partners from both inside and outside the Brazilian government. And from inside and outside Brazil.
It is crucial that we spread our wings beyond our borders. That we seek partners who complement us and make us stronger. Earlier today, Mr Jobim and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding on airports and aviation, formalising cooperation between the Netherlands and Brazil in these areas. During this conference we are exploring practical ways of strengthening our alliance. These include cooperation between the Dutch and Brazilian authorities, building contacts between companies, and possibly public-private partnerships too. To help things along I have brought an extensive delegation with me, made up of leading representatives of both sectors.
A difficult year
Ladies and gentlemen, this is not an easy year for the aviation sector. I imagine that everybody here is feeling the effects of the global economic crisis in one way or other. Some will be hit hard. The investment climate is suffering. Jobs are at risk. And as a result, our ambitions for the future are under pressure.
It is a fact of life that aviation is highly sensitive to market conditions. So given this situation, what is the best approach? I believe we must stay focused on the long term. We must work hard to find sustainable ways of improving our competitive position. So that we can seize new opportunities when the economic tide finally turns.
Our fate will be decided not by this crisis, but by our ability to think ahead and to develop productive relationships. It is precisely at times like these that we need strategic partners the most. And that is why we are in Brazil.
Openness and competition
The aviation world is changing. Slowly but surely a global free-market is developing, in which airlines compete fully. Open skies agreements give us more freedom and more opportunity. The traditional link between airlines and their home countries is disappearing. In Europe we have already created an internal market for aviation. And this process of liberalisation will continue.
Anyone wanting to survive needs to get to grips with this changing world. Or better still: take the lead. Openness and competitiveness go hand in hand.
That is why open markets are central to our policy. The facts speak for themselves.
Take KLM. It was the first European airline to adopt the hub-and-spoke system developed in the US. By linking European and intercontinental flights, KLM was able to build a world-wide network.
In 1992, the Netherlands was the first country to sign an open skies agreement with the United States, paving the way for the joint venture between KLM and Northwest. The economic advantages are clear. The opening of the market has led to lower prices, more frequent flights and better service.
Another example: in 2003, KLM and Air France initiated the first transnational merger of two major European airlines. At the time, this was a sensitive issue. Some called it a sell out. Some predicted the end of Amsterdam Airport. The Dutch government insisted on a number of safeguards to protect the public interest and consented to the merger under that condition. Now, six years on, the merger seems like the most natural thing in the world. The partnership is successful and – in revenue terms – has become the biggest airline in the world.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has also had to adapt to market realities. While the airport is a public company whose shares are owned by the government, it operates as a private-sector business.
Thanks partly to its openness, the Dutch aviation sector plays a much larger role on the global stage than you might expect given the Netherlands’ size. Schiphol is among the five largest airports in Europe and among the ten largest in the world. With a domestic market of only 16 million people, the airport sees 47 million passengers pass through each year. Almost all major destinations can be reached easily from Amsterdam. And thanks largely to the performance of Schiphol Airport and the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands has become the gateway to Europe. According to the World Bank, we are one of the global leaders in logistics performance.
The best way to compete is to excel. So how do you excel? First you provide quality at a competitive price. That is why we are working to reduce costs at the airport, so that it remains attractive to both airlines and passengers. Schiphol, KLM, Martinair, Air Traffic Control the Netherlands; all are working on reducing costs.
And you excel by providing a safe service. A sustainable service. And by adapting aviation to the local environment.
Excelling in safety and security
For all of us, safety is at the top of the agenda. Always and everywhere. The accident last week at Schiphol that involved a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800, was a shock to us all. Of the 135 people on board, nine lost their life when the plane crashed during landing. It is a miracle that so many others survived.
Safety is the number-one priority for Schiphol and all the airlines that fly to and from our airport. And yet this accident still happened. An exhaustive investigation is currently underway into the cause of the accident. Together with the other parties involved, we as the government will naturally look into what lessons there are to be learned. We want to minimize the risk of accidents. We want to excel in safety. And this is an ambition we share with you.
Safety was your priority, Mr Jobim, from the moment you were appointed defence minister in 2007. Brazil had just suffered a terrible disaster with the TAM Airbus crash at Congonhas airport. A year earlier there had been a fatal accident over the Amazon. Tragedies like these inflict deep wounds on societies.
Improving safety is an ongoing responsibility. We could choose to see it as a burden. But I prefer to see it as a source of opportunities.
Let me give you an example. After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, tighter security and safety requirements in the United States had an impact on all of us. In the Netherlands, airlines and airports responded quickly. They invested in the development of systems built with state-of-the-art digitial technology. These gave them an extra competitive advantage.
Or take physical infrastructure. After all, safety is not only about computers. Countless companies are developing new innovations in flight safety. Like special, extra-hard asphalt for landing runways, and a system for quickly removing excess water from runways after tropical downpours. These are the kinds of companies that are part of my delegation here in Brazil.
We are also improving safety by keeping the fields surrounding the runways as open as possible. Due to this policy, the Turkish Airlines’ Boeing did not crash onto any buildings.
Excelling in sustainability
Ladies and gentlemen,
Everything I have said about safety also applies to sustainability. If you want to be competitive tomorrow, you have to invest today in cleaner, more efficient ways of flying. Just look at the evolution of the aviation business. Today planes can fly three times further on the same amount of fuel than they did 40 years ago! And with every new generation of aircraft, it is estimated that the noise produced falls by 15 per cent.
According to the International Aerospace Industries Association, today’s new aircraft emit 50 per cent less carbon monoxide and 90 per cent fewer gases compared to those of 50 years ago.
At the end of last year, I paid a working visit to one of KLM’s hangars. There I was handed a brush and a pot of paint. But this was no ordinary paint. It was an innovative product of which 15 per cent less was needed. That means that the plane weighs less and so uses less fuel. And of course, that means a reduction in emissions. What is more, the plane is grounded for two days less than before, because the paint dries more quickly.
Cleaner, more efficient, more competitive. These three goals go hand in hand. That is the Netherlands’ guiding principle. Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport aims to be the world’s first climate-neutral main port. And last year, for the fourth time, KLM/Air France was named ‘most sustainable airline’ in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
In this context, I would also like to mention the unique knowledge centre, the National Aerospace Laboratory. It has countless innovations to its name. I am proud to say that this knowledge centre developed the wing of the Embraer 190.
Excelling in optimal use of capacity
Ladies and gentlemen, the aviation industry is going through a rough time. Yet in the longer term, global demand is expected to grow. The driving force will be emerging economies, such as Brazil.
When it comes to people, ideas and economic opportunities, Brazil is a country with enormous potential. You want to spread your wings. And you’re working hard to develop the infrastructure to match your ambitions. At the moment you face a shortage of capacity at your large airports. Your air-traffic-control capacity can barely keep up with the growth of Brazilian aviation in recent years. And that limits Brazil’s opportunities to develop. ANAC and Infraero are only too aware of this, and both have active policies to increase capacity.
Fortunately you have the advantage of plenty of space. Space that we in the Netherlands, which is 200 times smaller than Brazil, would dearly love to have. But because of our limited space, we’ve become experts in the optimal use of available capacity. And in carefully placing infrastructure within highly populated areas. In my country, public and private partners work together closely and effectively to achieve this. We are only too happy to share our experience and know-how with you. The Memorandum of Understanding that Mr Jobim and I have signed gives us a foundation for doing that.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen,
In five years’ time, as the World Cup gets under way, Brazil will be at the centre of the world. In seven years’ time, who knows? The Olympic flame could be burning in Rio de Janeiro.
But even without these global sporting events, the eyes of the world will be on Brazil. This country is a world-class global actor. A dynamic country with a great future ahead of it. Provided it can realise its ambitions for airports and aviation.
I find Brazil’s power and beauty fascinating, and I am proud to be here with so many leading Dutch aviation businesses, because I am convinced that we can help one another.
Our future lies in openness. In our ability to compete. In excelling at quality, safety and sustainability. And we want to work with Brazil in each of these areas.
We are natural partners. On land and sea. And in the air. Brazil and the Netherlands need each other. I am certain that we can make each other stronger. And I am proud of our present and future partnership.
Thank you.