Europe's airports facing shutdown, says ACI

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Airports Council International (ACI) Europe has warned that Europe's airport could be just days from a complete shutdown, because of reduced insurance cover. Leading airports that were previously covered for up to $1bn are now being offered cover of $5m to $50m per incident.

ACI said: "In the recent European Commission communication to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, the Commission made it clear that airports were not included in the emergency insurance cover which governments were urged to arrange for airlines. The severely reduced insurance cover for acts of terrorism or war currently proposed by insurers is inadequate and risks closing the doors of Europe's airports within days unless a solution can be found."

Temporary government underwriting of insurance comes to an end in the next few days.

ACI Europe director-general Philippe Hamon said: "Unless a solution to the airport insurance crisis is found within days, the inevitable closure of some European airports risks further deepening the crisis faced by airlines and air travellers."

ACI called on the European Commission to assess the crisis, and said emergency cover for airports should be extended by a further six months.