Response to interpellation 2023/24:186 on Swedavia AB
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns Swedavia's governance and the state's responsibility for airports. M argues that Swedavia is subject to the Companies Act and that the government is responsible for the national base supply 1. M emphasizes that the airport investigation is being prepared in the Government Offices and that they safeguard the future of aviation by lowering the fuel tax and the reduction obligation 2 3. S argues that certain municipalities bear too much responsibility and that airport infrastructure is crucial for the industry's transition 4. S wants the government to present a clear plan so that more municipal airports, such as Skellefteå, should become state-owned 5 6. S also inquires about the government's ambitions to maintain Arlanda's status 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! Isak From has asked me how I ensure that the governance of Swedavia meets the need for more state-owned airports while at the same time Swedavia's governance is compatible with ownership policy and the corporate governance model.
Companies with state ownership are subject to the same laws as privately owned companies, for example, the Companies Act (2005:551). In the Companies Act, there is a division of responsibility between owners, the board, and management. It is the company's board and management that are responsible for the company's organization and the management of its affairs as well as the ongoing management of the company's operational activities.
The Government decided in 2009 on a national basic supply of airports that the state should, in the long term, be responsible for providing. In the decision, it was stated that the following airports would be included in the basic supply: Göteborg-Landvetter, Kiruna, Luleå, Malmö, Ronneby, Stockholm-Arlanda, Stockholm-Bromma, Umeå, Visby and Åre-Östersund. It is this decision that remains in effect.
The company Swedavia AB was formed in 2010, and it then took over the responsibility for the airports that formed the national base supply and which had previously belonged to Luftfartsverket. According to Swedavia's articles of association, the company shall, within the framework of business principles, actively participate in the development of the transport sector and contribute to the achievement of the transport policy goals decided by the Riksdag. The company may not, without the government's approval, close down or transfer any of the airports included in the national base supply of airports established by the government's decision at any given time. In the company's ownership instructions, it is also regulated how Swedavia's five mission goals shall be measured and reported.
In December 2021, the Riksdag announced to the government that the Riksdag's approval should be obtained before changes are implemented in the national basic supply of airports (bet. 2021/22:TU4, rskr. 2021/22:81).
On 30 May 2022, the investigator Peter Norman was tasked with investigating and producing proposals for the direction of the state's responsibility for airports in Sweden. The assignment was presented on 15 February 2023 in the memorandum State's responsibility for the Swedish airport system - For accessibility and preparedness. The proposals in the airport investigation are being prepared within the Government Offices.
Isak From (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Elisabeth Svantesson, for the answer! As Elisabeth Svantesson says in the answer, the starting point for my interpellation is actually that it is still this decision that applies - the decision that the government made in 2009 regarding the national supply of airports.
The reason why the previous S-government tasked Elisabeth Svantesson's party colleague Peter Norman with investigating and producing proposals for the direction of the state's responsibility for airports in Sweden was that it was seen as perhaps unreasonable for some municipalities to bear a very large responsibility for something that should actually be a state responsibility.
One can look at what is happening in northern Sweden and especially at what is now happening in Skellefteå. It has shown that the airport infrastructure is absolutely crucial for being able to carry out and complete the industry's transition.
I heard that Elisabeth Svantesson visited Kiruna. Elisabeth Svantesson might have flown to Kiruna – I do not know if she did. But at the Arctic Council's seminar here in the Riksdag, I was made aware of the enormous difficulties that Swedavia has in maintaining air traffic to Kiruna specifically. Many departures have had to be cancelled. It is also the case that they cannot manage to maintain air traffic to Kiruna on Saturdays, which is quite remarkable and unfortunate.
Kiruna is one of the largest tourist destinations. The tourism industry in Kiruna generates over 1 billion kronor per year, which, in the shadow of LKAB and other things happening in Kiruna, perhaps does not receive as much attention. That one does not have a state airport that delivers what a state airport is expected to do is in no way acceptable.
The Minister for Finance returns in his answer to that the government shall come to the Riksdag and present a new direction. It is clear that it is very welcome. But it is said that the question is being prepared. Now the question has been prepared for not quite a full year, but one must perhaps have had an idea in the government. What does one want to do? Peter Norman handed over the investigation in February. There it is said that Skellefteå should immediately become a state airport. Then there should be a discussion that is being held now. I assume in any case that that idea exists. Then one should be able to announce here in the chamber that one intends to come to the Riksdag and present a development plan for how one intends to develop Swedavia's mandate so that there can be more state airports.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Isak From, for the question! This government - and we four coalition parties - truly safeguard the future of aviation in Sweden. I might even be able to claim that we safeguard it a bit more than the previous government did. But now there shall be no competition regarding this. Now it is we who have the responsibility, and we will, of course, take responsibility.
We take responsibility and want Sweden to have a well-functioning infrastructure for aviation, and a national basic supply of airports is a very important part of just this.
The airport investigation has delivered, as I said earlier and as the interpellor also said. And the responsible minister, namely Andreas Carlson, will of course return to this issue when the time comes.
It is good that Isak From feels that there is a sense of urgency. But one must also have patience - as Isak From knows - when preparing these types of issues, because they are large and complex. And it must be done correctly.
The objectives for Swedavia are discussed all the time in owner dialogues. They are reported in the annual reports. I can also assure the members that we take our responsibility as a responsible owner of Swedavia. As the owner minister, I can only say that we safeguard the future of aviation. We also safeguard the goals that Swedavia has so that Sweden shall benefit in the best possible way.
Finally, Madam Speaker, different types of transport should not be pitted against each other. I believe that Isak From and I share that view. Transport via road, rail, aviation, and shipping must, of course, cooperate in an efficient transport system in a country that in many ways has very large distances. Aviation is an incredibly important part of this.
Isak From (S)
Madam Speaker! Just Skellefteå also stands without its own railway. We do not need to dwell here on the delays with the Norrbotniabanan, but there is, among other things, an appeal on the government's desk that has been lying there for an entire year. The government, as it is said, makes decisions collectively.
Here, the question is whether Swedavia can enter as an actor in Skellefteå, so that Skellefteå gets a state-owned airport with everything that entails. There must be a basis in the ownership consultations that the government has with Swedavia. It is important for the municipality but also for the business community in Skellefteå and for the entire region, northern Västerbotten, to know: What does the government want with this? Does it intend to proceed with it?
Right now, the municipality maintains the airport, and they are doing a very good job. But they are undertaking a task that should be state-run when it is on this scale.
Peter Norman also suggested that the airports in Ängelholm and Kalmar, based on their context, should also become state-owned Swedavia airports. The transport infrastructure in Sweden is very dependent on what one wants.
I have had interpellation debates here with Andreas Carlson, particularly from the perspective that perhaps the most important airport for the entire northern Sweden is Arlanda. We have all perhaps been affected by the chaos at Arlanda. Last Tuesday, I sat for three hours in Umeå. It was snowing in Umeå. But it was not because it was snowing in Umeå that air traffic was delayed significantly, it was because Arlanda could not manage to maintain operations when they could only manage to have one runway running. This should actually become the subject of its own interpellation debate. But Arlanda is still so large and important that one really should ensure that Swedavia deploys all available resources so that this airport, which is actually a national node, functions. It is absolutely crucial. And I believe that all airports, whether it is a Swedavia airport or a municipal airport out in the country, see this. If Arlanda does not function, air traffic does not function. And then the transport infrastructure does not function either. The government should therefore look particularly at this goal.
I would appreciate it if the government could be a bit clearer during this debate and say that you intend to come to the Riksdag and present a new plan for Swedavia so that more municipal airports, which today maintain a large national responsibility, can become state-owned.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! I thank you once again for the questions. I shall be very brief.
As I mentioned, this airport investigation is currently being processed and prepared in the Government Offices, and the government will, of course, follow up when it comes to that.
It is obviously important that Swedavia, which is my area of responsibility, as a company within the framework of business professionalism and all the tasks that one actively participates in, specifically in the development of the transport sector and that one contributes to one of the transport policy goals decided by the Riksdag being achieved.
I believe that Isak From and I share many images. I have lived in several places in Sweden, including Västerbotten, and I understand the need for functioning transport - railway, aviation and others. But if I had been in Isak From's shoes, I might have worried even more about how to handle the forces within both his own party and Miljöpartiet who want to complicate the future of aviation and perhaps spend more time on that than pondering aviation's possibilities and future during this government's time. We will contribute to aviation continuing to have a strong future because people all around Sweden need different types of transport. And if one is to be able to transport oneself from north to south in a short time, it is aviation that counts.
Isak From (S)
Madam Speaker! I believe that Elisabeth Svantesson should concentrate on her own government basis. We were very clear about what we wanted with our government basis. For us, aviation has had and has a significant position. But we do not see any future for Bromma. On the other hand, we see a strong future for Arlanda, and political steering is needed to maintain Arlanda's status, especially given that our neighboring countries invest a great deal of their national prestige in their airports. This applies to both Copenhagen and Helsinki. And we need to maintain Arlanda's status. In that regard, we also question the government's ambitions. We have not seen them. I have questioned this in other interpellation debates. But it seems to be a bit difficult in Elisabeth Svantesson's own government basis to actually point out where one wants to go.
Again: This debate is about Peter Norman's investigation and what is happening in the Government Offices regarding the ownership consultation with Swedavia. This is a planning factor for the municipalities that Peter Norman actually points out. What should they expect? Is this something that will happen in the near future, or is it something that might be presented sometime in 2026 as a new investigation or something else? Elisabeth Svantesson's government basis needs to present something for those who are actually affected.
Finansministern Elisabeth Svantesson (M)
Madam Speaker! That is absolutely correct. This government basis will also deliver. As I have said three or four times, the issue is being prepared. And of course, the best possible results are to be achieved from this. Sometimes it takes time. I still think it has not been that long. But now it is also a matter of doing it right.
Regarding the government's support, I can only state that the four parties that now have a budget cooperation for one year have lowered the fuel taxes twice, and we will soon introduce a reduction of the reduction obligation. It was not we who raised the aviation tax. It was the Social Democratic government that made things more difficult for aviation.
I believe that both Arlanda and Bromma will be needed. And I know that many even in Isak From's constituency think it is good that we have both airports, because they have slightly different tasks. But they are still very important. And of course, Arlanda is an incredibly important airport. Especially considering what is now happening in another company, namely SAS, we must safeguard Arlanda in very many ways.
I thank you for the interpellation debate and wish you a pleasant weekend.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.