The shutdown of Säve Airport disrupts the region's development

By: Thomas Ström 2/8/17

Did Swedavia deceive the other owners?

 

I still cannot believe that it was decided to shut down Säve Airport.
In fact, it is absurd and a huge waste of money. 

Imagine if they had instead invested in renovating and expanding it.
Imagine how profitable it would have been for Gothenburg and the whole region – not to mention if the terminal and the parking would have been moved to the main road. 
Then we would have had a city airport, which would have been a great complement to Landvetter, especially when it is not possible to land there because of fog, for example.

It would also have been a very good resource for the business community in one of the most interesting regions, considering private jets and businessmen who prioritize speed and availability.
Keeping Säve would have been much cheaper than building a second runway at Landvetter, which I'm fairly sure is not going to happen in many, many years. Actually, I don’t believe it will happen at all.
Especially considering the fact that right now, people at the highest level, are discussing a second runway at Sturup. This seems completely absurd given the proximity to Kastrup.

All of these decisions are a big waste of money.

Lately, I have been learning more about the process surrounding the decision to close Säve.
Swedavia said that the cost to repair the existing runway would have been 250 MSEK. According to reliable sources, it would have cost 25 MSEK.

I am convinced that the closure of Säve is about Swedavia not wanting an airport in the region that can compete with Landvetter.
I believe that I can even go out on a limb and say that Swedavia officials have left their two former partners – the City of Gothenburg and Volvo – hoodwinked.

The background of the whole affair is that Säve made a loss and then Swedavia was forced to allocate more money into the project. This is when they rewrote the earlier shareholders’ agreement.
An addition to the new agreement would have the following effect:
If and when Swedavia wanted to sell, the municipality and Volvo had to sell their shares to Swedavia.

With this agreement, it was not difficult for Swedavia to get Säve disused, while investing as much as possible in Landvetter instead.
I think it's disturbing!