“We can no longer continue to fill the deficit of this equipment with public money”. The president (DVD) of the departmental council of the Marne, Christian Bruyen, does not beat around the bush. He has decided to put Vatry airport up for sale. “We still have the firm hope that this will make people react. We must try and avoid regrets. But we are really going there, we are not waving the red rag, ”he notes.
Seven potential buyers have already come forward. Suitors who come in particular from the Arabo-Persian Gulf or even from Asia. “The arrival of foreign capital at the controls of Vatry is a real risk. I can’t imagine a foreign flag flying over the control tower. But it feels like the last resort if no one reacts. »
“There is no third Parisian airport but Vatry has what it takes”
This platform was born in 2000, in the middle of the fields south of Châlons-en-Champagne. Always in deficit and bailed out on many occasions, the equipment has benefited from millions of euros. The last subsidy dates from October 2022 up to 3 million. During the Covid crisis, however, the airport was in the spotlight. It is on this platform that millions of masks and medical equipment pass through every week. As proof, in 2021, Vatry broke a tonnage record with 30,500 tonnes of freight passing through.
“There is no third Parisian airport, but Vatry has what it takes and is only 150 km from Paris,” maintains Christian Bruyen. But in 2022, the airport suffers the blow with only 18,474 tons of freight. “Partnerships with certain operators suddenly ended. It is not due to a lack of skill, we have the feeling that we are disturbing and we are being put in the way. »
Who blames Vatry and its potential growth? Without naming it, it is Aéroports de Paris which operates Roissy and Orly in particular which is in the sights. “We should be able to let certain operators work with us without exerting any form of pressure to invite them not to pursue exchanges with us”.
If until now the department has always refused foreign capital and has continued to fill the airport’s deficit with public money, Christian Bruyen is determined to get the airport out of this impasse. However, Vatry will not be able to escape a social plan to return to equilibrium. “The procedure will be put in place, recalls Christian Bruyen. I have already prepared the representatives for this eventuality.” Several dozen jobs are thus threatened out of the 116 existing positions. Until then, an additional subsidy will have to be paid to bring the structure back to equilibrium. It is estimated between one and two million euros.