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Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, did flying grind to a halt in 2020?

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There are many ways to get to Nice airport from Monaco. © Nice Tourist Office

The economic crisis linked to Covid-19 may have lowered their bank balance, but the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport has still delivered on its Public Service missions and improved the safety of both staff and passengers.

Despite a drop in passenger traffic (50.9% for domestic flights and 77.7% for international flights) and a huge 55% decrease in profits, taking their turnover to 132 million euros, Nice Côte d’Azur Airport has not given up on flying. In fact, they have been greatly investing into safety and the environment.

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“Whilst the Group experienced an unprecedented crisis in 2020, one that will continue into 2021, it is our responsibility as airport management to ensure that our actions relating to safety and respect for the environment are not called into question,” explained Franck Goldnadel, President of the Board of Directors for the Côte d’Azur airports. “We consider ourselves the laboratory for the airport of tomorrow and we must set an example and use everything at our disposal to show what that future will look like: high-performance, safe and carbon neutral airports by 2030.”

A vital source of help in recovery from storm Alex

Since March 2020, the Group of Côte d’Azur airports have made several deals in order to keep their three sites (Nice, Cannes-Mandelieu and Saint-Tropez) up and running, 24/7. As a result of such efficient management, both Cannes and Nice were able to assist with the response to storm Alex. Medical evacuation flights were able to land at both of the airports to assist with rescue missions and Terminal 1 in Nice also served as a safe space for victims of storm Alex.

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In a bid to limit financial damage, the Group reduced some employees’ hours, made agreements with social partners and shareholders gave up their dividends in the 2019 financial year. As a result, the net loss of revenue was -25%, or 33 million euros. “The Group’s financial results are clearly not good, but without the commitment and the sense of responsibility from everyone involved, they could have been a lot worse,” summarised Franck Goldnadel.

An unwavering commitment to the environment

Having invested both money and energy into the airport in Nice, it has now been recognised as one of the safest in Europe and has received the ACI Health Accreditation: an international certificate validating the quality and standard of the sanitary measures put in place. As well as this, the airport is part of the EASA Charter, which ensures the Group provides the same sanitary measures across all of their airports.

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Since the crisis began, the Group have been able to adapt their practises and invest in the necessary measures needed to keep everyone in the airports safe. Following health advice from the relevant authorities, all terminals are now equipped with cleaning materials and other products, such as hand gel, which help prevent transmission of the virus. In terms of investment in other areas, the Group has decided to increase money spent on environmental protection with a notable increase in funding for the initiatives linked to their Cap 2030 plan: their mission to become carbon neutral by 2030.