Financing and Support for Regional Airports

The party programme states that aviation is one of the major challenges of the transition and that economic frameworks should be built so that aviation begins to bear its socioeconomic costs. The counter-proposal's requirement for capital injections, increased grant financing and compensation for lost revenues to regional airports goes in the opposite direction by placing more of aviation's costs on the public. The plan wants instead to direct transport to rail.

• aviation bears its costsdecisive»stå för sina samhällsekonomiska kostnader.« (party programme ↗)“bear their socioeconomic costs.”
• aviation as a climate challenge»Flygtrafiken är en av de stora utmaningarna i omställningen.« (party programme ↗)“Air traffic is one of the major challenges of the transition.”
• transport to rail»Tunga transporter behöver styras till järnväg och hållbar sjöfart.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Heavy transport needs to be directed to rail and sustainable shipping.”
• unsustainable travel among the richest»framför allt finns i samhällets toppskikt.« (party programme ↗)“especially exists in society's top layer.”

The plan addresses neither airports nor Swedavia's profit-sharing. The closest-lying principle is that the entire country shall be able to live and develop and that the state shall be present throughout the country, together with rejection of burdening people dependent on transport in sparsely populated areas. On that basis, the plan speaks for greater state responsibility for the regional airports' basic functions.

• the entire country shall livedecisive»Alla har ett gemensamt intresse av att hela landet kan leva och utvecklas.« (party programme ↗)“Everyone has a common interest in the entire country being able to live and develop.”
• state presence throughout the country»Staten ska finnas närvarande i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The state shall be present throughout the country.”
• realistic transport conditions in sparsely populated areas»Klimatkrisen kan aldrig lösas med att skuldbelägga människor som behöver ta bilen till affären – det är helt nödvändigt i stora delar av vårt land.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The climate crisis can never be solved by burdening people who need to drive to the shop – it is entirely necessary in large parts of our country.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme explicitly establishes that airports shall not be subsidized with public funds, and the election manifesto wants to raise the air tax, reduce air travel and instead invest in railways. The counter-proposal's demands for increased state economic responsibility for regional airports and compensation for lost revenue directly contradict these commitments.

• no airport subsidiesdecisive»ska inte subventioneras med offentliga medel.« (party programme ↗)“shall not be subsidized with public funds.”
• reduced air travel»minska flygets utsläpp — höja flygskatten, minska flygresandet och skynda på omställningen till förnybara bränslen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“reduce aviation emissions — raise the air tax, reduce air travel and accelerate the transition to renewable fuels”
• money from aviation to railways»Staten borde sälja SAS och investera pengarna i järnväg.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The state should sell SAS and invest the money in railways.”
• railways before aviation»bygga ut och rusta upp järnvägsnätet för snabba tåg i hela landet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“expand and upgrade the railway network for fast trains across the country”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The election manifesto establishes that regional aviation holds Sweden together and that flight infrastructure must function throughout the country, with regional airports equipped for electric aviation. The counter-proposal's demand for greater state responsibility for air traffic control and safety systems and compensation to regional airports is a direct application of that undertaking. The plan's principle that value from local resources should to a greater extent remain in the locality also supports a review of the profit-sharing model.

• functioning regional aviationdecisive»Det regionala flyget håller ihop Sverige. Flyginfrastrukturen ska fungera i hela landet. Vi vill säkerställa att de regionala flygplatserna står redo med rätt infrastruktur när elflyget utvecklas i snabb takt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Regional aviation holds Sweden together. Flight infrastructure must function throughout the country. We want to ensure that regional airports are ready with the right infrastructure when electric aviation develops at rapid pace.”
• tourism requires communications»Besöksnäringen har stor betydelse för hela landets utveckling, och för att den ska kunna fortsätta växa krävs också bättre kommunikationer och infrastruktur.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Tourism is important for the whole country's development, and for it to continue to grow, better communications and infrastructure are also needed.”
• services nationwide»Offentlig service ska vara nära och pålitlig i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Public services must be close and reliable throughout the country.”
• value remains locally»Vinsterna från lokal kraftproduktion — som vind och vatten — ska i större utsträckning stanna kvar i bygden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Profits from local power production — such as wind and water — should to a greater extent remain in the locality.”

The plan states that it is those who pollute who shall pay, that all transport modes shall bear their climate costs and that more infrastructure projects shall be able to be financed through fees. Increased government grants and revenue compensation for regional airports works against that principle. The plan's demand for state presence throughout the country is a qualification but does not bear the requirement.

• the polluter paysdecisive»Det är den som förorenar – ingen annan – som ska betala.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is those who pollute – no one else – who shall pay.”
• transport bears its climate costs»Beroendet av fossila bränslen måste brytas och alla transportslag måste stå för sina« (party programme ↗)“Dependence on fossil fuels must be broken and all transport modes must cover their”
• fee-financed infrastructure»För att höja investeringstakten ska fler nya projekt kunna avgiftsfinansieras.« (party programme ↗)“In order to raise the investment rate more new projects shall be able to be financed through fees.”
• state presence throughout the country»Vägnätet ska fungera och statliga myndigheter ska finnas närvarande i alla delar av Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The road network shall function and government agencies shall be present in all parts of Sweden.”

The party programme explicitly places on the state a responsibility to maintain a system of national and regional airports and regionally significant air traffic that does not come about on commercial grounds. That is precisely what the counter-proposal requires regarding financing of air traffic control and compensation for regional airports. The election manifesto states that all of Sweden shall function.

• state responsibility for airportsdecisive»ett system av nationella och regionala flygplatser liksom regionalt betydelsefull flygtrafik som inte kommer till stånd på kommersiella grunder« (party programme ↗)“a system of national and regional airports as well as regionally significant air traffic that does not come about on commercial grounds”
• all of Sweden shall function»Hela Sverige ska fungera och det ska gå att bo och verka även utanför de stora städerna.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All of Sweden shall function and it should be possible to live and work even outside the major cities.”
• necessary domestic aviation»Ett välfungerande inrikesflyg« (party programme ↗)“A well-functioning domestic air service”
• state infrastructure responsibility»investeringsnivån i kommunikationssystemens infrastruktur såsom vägar, järnvägar och elektroniska« (party programme ↗)“the level of investment in communication systems' infrastructure such as roads, railways and electronic”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan states that high-quality infrastructure is important for jobs and growth in all parts of the country and that all of Sweden must function, and it explicitly affirms aviation's development. The counter-proposal's demand for state responsibility for air traffic control and a review of revenue distribution to regional airports follows from that stance. The plan simultaneously requires that new expenses fit within the surplus target, which makes the support conditional.

• infrastructure in all of Swedendecisive»En infrastruktur av hög kvalitet är viktig för jobb och tillväxt i alla delar av landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“High-quality infrastructure is important for jobs and growth in all parts of the country.”
• all of Sweden shall function»Moderaterna vill ta vara på hela Sveriges möjligheter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Moderate Party wants to make use of all of Sweden's possibilities.”
• embrace aviation's transition»Det är en utveckling som Moderaterna vill bejaka.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is a development that the Moderate Party wants to embrace.”
• financed commitments»Alla nya löften och reformer – som till exempel våra inkomstskattesänkningar – behöver finansieras eller rymmas inom överskottsmålet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All new promises and reforms – such as our income tax cuts – need to be financed or fit within the surplus target.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan establishes that all regional airports should be given standby airport status so that their public service gets a secured future, and notes that several are threatened with closure. That is precisely the responsible state financing the counter-proposal seeks for air traffic control, security systems and lost revenues. The plan also explicitly wants to preserve domestic flights and regional airports.

• standby airportsdecisive»Alla regionala flygplatser behöver få status som beredskapsflygplatser, så att den service dessa flygplatser tillhandahåller samhället i stort får en säkrad framtid.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All regional airports need to be given standby airport status so that the service these airports provide to society as a whole gets a secured future.”
• preserved regional airports»Bevara de regionala flygplatserna och att göra dem till beredskapsflygplatser« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Preserve regional airports and make them standby airports”
• threatened airports»Många av landets regionala flygplatser har drabbats av minskat flygande och flera är nedläggningshotade.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Many of the country's regional airports have been hit by reduced air traffic and several are threatened with closure.”
• preserved domestic flights»Bevara inrikesflyget och Bromma flygplats« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Preserve domestic flights and Bromma Airport”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.