Jacob Bundsgaard (S), the mayor of Aarhus, has begun investigating the possibility of a new airport in the city after wind turbine giant Vestas announced yesterday that it would move 200 jobs to Copenhagen to be closer to an international airport.
The Vestas revelations underline the need for Denmark’s second-largest city to rethink its airport strategy, Bundsgaard said according to Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
“The Vestas decision shows that we don’t have a satisfactory airport service in Aarhus at present, and the discussion we will have concerning Aarhus Airport this spring is important,” Bundsgaard told Jyllands-Posten.
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Proposal rejected in January
In January, the Konservative members of Aarhus Council proposed a strategic analysis of the airport and the need for it in Aarhus and east Jutland – a proposal that was ultimately rejected. But since the announcement by Vestas that jobs are moving to the capital, the discussion is once again gathering momentum.
Some larger business organisations pointed out that they should instead develop the existing airport, located in Tirstrup, but over 100 companies – including IKEA, BDO, Colliers, Radisson and VIA University College – disagreed and called for an airport closer to the city centre.
The Konservative party agreed that the airport issue should be reviewed once more.
