VINCI Airports lands in Quimper and stays on in Grenoble

12 August 2010 - New contracts - France

On 18 December 2008, Brittany’s Regional Council awarded the consortium formed by VINCI Airports (VINCI Concessions), leader, and Keolis the contract to operate Quimper Cornouaille Airport. Created in 1932, this facility had previous been granted as a concession to the CCI (Chamber of Commerce and Industry). It handled 120,000 passengers in 2008 and offers a schedule of regular flights to Paris, as well as seasonal flights to tourist destinations, notably Corsica. The contract enters into force on 1st March 2009, for a period of six years and ten months. It will be in the form of a public service outsourcing contract for the operation, upkeep (including major repairs and replacement) and maintenance of the terminal, runways, equipment and commercial outlets. The airport’s 25 employees will join the Quimper Cornouaille Airport operating company, a subsidiary of VINCI Airports and Keolis. This success comes just a few days after the General Council in the département of Isère renewed the public service operation contract for the management of Grenoble-Isère international airport (photo), held by the VINCI Airports-Keolis consortium since 2004. The first example, since the advent of the decentralisation legislation, of a renewal of a public service outsourcing contract awarded to a private sector company for the management of an airport, this contract was signed on 28 November; it will enter into force on 1st January 2009, for a period of 14.5 years. During its first five years managing the airport, the VINCI Airports-Keolis consortium has tripled traffic there; looking to the future, its task will be to develop the facility for the benefit of the economy and tourism in the département of Isère. The contract includes a requirement for an investment of €6m, to finish bringing the airport’s infrastructure up to current standards and enhance the quality and reliability of the service provided; it also calls for the introduction of a public transport link between the airport and Grenoble city centre.
It will be recalled that Chambéry-Savoie and Clermont- Ferrand – Auvergne airports are also managed by VINCI Airports and Keolis within the framework of public service outsourcing contracts.