Arlanda and Bromma airport

The plan identifies air traffic as one of the major challenges in the transition and demands that aviation begins to bear its social and economic costs, with railways and public transport as alternatives. Closing a metropolitan airport whose continued operation lacks business rationale and makes other airports more expensive aligns with that, as does the goal of cleaner metropolitan air. However, the plan does not take a position on individual airports.

• aviation should bear its costsdecisive»stå för sina samhällsekonomiska kostnader. Det skulle sänka utsläppen« (party programme ↗)“bear its social and economic costs. That would reduce emissions”
• reduce aviation emissions»Flygtrafiken är en av de stora utmaningarna i omställningen.« (party programme ↗)“Air traffic is one of the major challenges in the transition.”
• cleaner metropolitan air»Renare storstadsluft, billig och fungerande tåg- och kollektivtrafik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Cleaner metropolitan air, cheap and functioning train and public transport.”
• railways over aviation»som bland annat innehåller en utbyggnad av järnvägen.« (party programme ↗)“which includes among other things an expansion of the railways.”

The plan invests in railways so more people travel climate-smartly and wants climate-smart travel to be the cheaper option, while public interest should guide state-owned companies. Closing an airport without commercial basis, whose continued operation makes operations more expensive for airports in the rest of the country, is in line with this. The plan does not address the question explicitly, however, so the position is derived.

• railways as main optiondecisive»Genom massiva investeringar i både ny och befintlig järnväg kommer fler att kunna resa klimatsmart med tåg.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Through massive investments in both new and existing railways, more people will be able to travel climate-smartly by train.”
• public interest in state companies»Stärkt samhällsintresse i styrningen av de statliga bolagen.« (party programme ↗)“Strengthened public interest in managing state-owned companies.”
• climate-smart travel»Klimatsmart resande som det billigare alternativet.« (party programme ↗)“Climate-smart travel as the cheaper option.”
• accessibility nationwide»God tillgång till samhällets service i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“Good access to public services across the country.”

The plan requires reduced air travel and reduced emissions from aviation, and wants to shift resources from aviation to rail. Removing a major city airport from the national basic supply and consolidating domestic traffic at the remaining airport reduces aviation capacity and thus lies in the plan's direction. The plan does not mention the individual airport, wherefore the position is derived from the commitment to reduced aviation.

• minskat flygresandedecisive»minska flygets utsläpp — höja flygskatten, minska flygresandet och skynda på omställningen till förnybara bränslen, elektrobränslen och elflyg för de flygresor som inte kan ersättas på annat sätt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“reduce aviation emissions — raise the aviation tax, reduce air travel and accelerate the shift to renewable fuels, electric fuels and electric aviation for those flights that cannot be replaced in another way.”
• resurser från flyg till järnväg»Staten borde sälja SAS och investera pengarna i järnväg.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The state should sell SAS and invest the money in rail.”
• tåget före flyget»Tåget ska vara snabbare än bilen och billigare än flyget.« (party programme ↗)“The train shall be faster than the car and cheaper than the plane.”
• utbyggd järnväg»bygga ut och rusta upp järnvägsnätet för snabba tåg i hela landet och skynda på bygget av nya stambanor för höghastighetståg.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“expand and upgrade the rail network for fast trains throughout the country and accelerate the construction of new main lines for high-speed trains.”

The election manifesto's overarching commitment on aviation is that regional aviation keeps Sweden together and that air infrastructure should function throughout the country. Removing a metropolitan airport from the national basic supply to enable closure impairs precisely those regional connections. The plan instead promises to prepare regional airports for electric aviation and that the whole country shall have reliable infrastructure.

• regional aviation keeps the country togetherdecisive»Det regionala flyget håller ihop Sverige. Flyginfrastrukturen ska fungera i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Regional aviation keeps Sweden together. Air infrastructure shall function throughout the country.”
• prepared regional airports»Vi vill säkerställa att de regionala flygplatserna står redo med rätt infrastruktur när elflyget utvecklas i snabb takt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to ensure that regional airports are ready with the right infrastructure when electric aviation develops rapidly.”
• reliable infrastructure throughout the country»Hela landet ska ha tillgång till en pålitlig infrastruktur« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The whole country shall have access to reliable infrastructure”
• accessibility throughout the country»Alla delar av Sverige ska se ökad frihet, trygghet och tillgänglighet nästa mandatperiod.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All parts of Sweden shall see increased freedom, security and accessibility next election period.”

The documents say nothing about individual airports or the national basic supply, so the position is derived from the nearest principle: the public shall only run business operations when there is a strong public interest, and all transport modes shall bear their climate costs. When the airport company itself lacks commercial reasons and operation makes other airports more expensive the plan speaks for closure and traffic concentration. The plan also favours densification in larger cities.

• restrictive public enterprisedecisive»Det offentliga ska endast driva affärsverksamhet om det finns ett starkt samhällsintresse.« (party programme ↗)“The public shall only run business operations if there is a strong public interest.”
• transport bears its climate costs»Beroendet av fossila bränslen måste brytas och alla transportslag måste stå för sina klimatkostnader.« (party programme ↗)“Dependence on fossil fuels must be broken and all transport modes must bear their climate costs.”
• densification in cities»I större städer är av miljöskäl förtätning att föredra framför utglesad kringbebyggelse.« (party programme ↗)“In larger cities densification is to be preferred on environmental grounds rather than dispersed outlying construction.”

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 domestic aviation is necessary in a country with long distances and that the state is responsible for a system of national and regional airports and for regionally significant air traffic that does not pay commercially. Lifting a major city airport out of the basic supply to enable closure removes precisely that accessibility. Stewardship's requirements for responsible management point partly the other way.

• domestic aviation is necessarydecisive»välfungerande inrikesflyg är nödvändigt i Sverige med dess långa avstånd« (party programme ↗)“well-functioning domestic aviation is necessary in Sweden with its long distances”
• state responsibility for airport system»ansvar att upprätthålla ett system av nationella och regionala flygplatser« (party programme ↗)“responsibility for maintaining a system of national and regional airports”
• non-commercial air traffic to be valued»betydelsefull flygtrafik som inte kommer till stånd på kommersiella grunder« (party programme ↗)“significant air traffic that does not come about on commercial grounds”
• responsible stewardship»ekonomiska tillgångar som finns tillgängliga och en strävan efter ett långsiktigt perspektiv« (party programme ↗)“economic resources that are available and a pursuit of a long-term perspective”

The plan's only stated airport commitment is to expand Arlanda with the goal that it shall become the leading airport in the Nordic region, which points toward concentrating domestic traffic there. The plan further requires that government expenditure be reduced and that wasteful use of tax money be stopped, which argues for discontinuing operations that lack commercial justification. The plan takes no position on base supply, which is why the conclusion is derived.

• Arlanda as a hubdecisive»Bygga ut Arlanda med målet att Arlanda ska bli den ledande flygplatsen i Norden« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Expand Arlanda with the goal that Arlanda shall become the leading airport in the Nordic region”
• stop wasteful use of tax money»Statens utgifter ska minska – vi ska stoppa slöseriet med skattepengar« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Government expenditure shall decrease – we shall stop wasteful use of tax money”
• embrace aviation»Flyget är mitt uppe i en snabb omställning med ökad användning av biobränslen, vätgas och utveckling av elflyg. Det är en utveckling som Moderaterna vill bejaka.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Aviation is in the midst of a rapid transition with increased use of biofuels, hydrogen and development of electric aircraft. It is a development that the Moderates want to embrace.”

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 election manifesto explicitly states that there is long-term value in maintaining Bromma airport and wants to preserve domestic flights. The counter-proposal, by contrast, wants to lift the airport out of the national basic offering to enable closure. The plan furthermore emphasizes that regional airports and domestic flights are needed for the entire country to be able to live and function.

• behåll Brommadecisive»Det finns ett långsiktigt värde i att behålla Bromma flygplats.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“There is long-term value in maintaining Bromma airport.”
• bevarat inrikesflyg»Bevara inrikesflyget och Bromma flygplats« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Preserve domestic flights and Bromma airport”
• flygplatsernas värde»Värdet av Bromma flygplats och andra regionala flygplatser kan i detta perspektiv inte betonas tillräckligt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The value of Bromma airport and other regional airports cannot be sufficiently emphasized in this perspective.”
• mot flygfientlig politik»Regeringens flygfientliga politik hotar landets sammanhållning och konkurrenskraft.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The government's anti-aviation policy threatens the country's cohesion and competitiveness.”