Less than a hundred private planes land on the small aerodrome of Artigues de Lussac, in Libourne, where first flights and microlight flights are carried out over the vineyards of Saint-Emilion.
The new buyers of the infrastructure, two intercommunalities, want to develop the runway to allow it to accommodate up to 400 planes per year, or about one per day. A project that triggered uploading a petition a few days ago. “More than six million euros of public money must thus be invested to facilitate the excesses of the richest to the detriment of the health of the inhabitants of Libournais. Say no to this aberrant project ”, we can read in the text of the petition, supported by Extinction Rebellion Bordeaux and ANV COP21.
The track lengthened and widened?
The agglomeration community of Libournais (CALI) and the agglomeration community of the greater Saint-Emilionnais bought the aerodrome from the chamber of commerce and industry, which wished to separate from it. On January 1, they will create a mixed union and hope to develop activities there from 2022 and 2023. The idea is “to lengthen the runway by a few tens of meters and to widen it by a few meters, to allow airplanes more important business to arise ”, explains Philippe Buisson, president of CALI.
It is also about allowing companies looking for land to set up on the land around the aerodrome in order to create a new economic zone. The development of a branch of the aeronautics sector is also hoped for, in conjunction with the Region, particularly in the drones sector.
A promise to the Céva company
“This bothers us from an ecological and social point of view,” explains Sabrina, member of the No collective at the Saint-Emilionnais airport, carrying the petition. Seeing private jets over the heads of people who live below the poverty line, I find that absurd. There is no interest for the inhabitants ”. “People are against it, reacts Philippe Buisson. They have the right to be declinists. I am for the rational, pragmatic and responsible development of the Libournais territory, and that is what I am doing. “
He was also bound by a commitment made to Céva Santé Animale, the third largest veterinary pharmaceutical laboratory in the world, which employs a thousand people in the Libournais, many of them executives. “Ceva maintained its world headquarters in Libourne because the company had the promise of maintaining an aerodrome, that was a condition”, explains Philippe Buisson. Other large owners of castles, including groups like Dassault and Fayat, “people who create jobs” according to the president of Cali, would have an interest in the development of the business aviation runway. .
The total cost of the operation amounts to six million euros. “In all the market studies that we have carried out, we arrive at a small balance, says Philippe Buisson, because when an aircraft lands, the owner pays taxes.” A point that should not change the minds of those opposed to the project, who are more concerned with the ecological and social aspects than with the profitability of the operation.