Dr. Michael Kerkloh elected new ADV president

Dr. Michael Kerkloh

Dr. Michael Kerkloh, who has served as the president and CEO of Munich Airport for 10 years, will now assume the additional role of president of the German Airports Association (ADV). At their annual conference in Bremen, the CEOs and managing directors of Germany’s airports unanimously elected Kerkloh, 59, as the new president of the body representing their interests. Kerkloh, who assumed the role of vice president of the ADV two years ago, will assume the role of president effective January 1, 2013 as the successor of Christoph Blume, the CEO of Düsseldorf Airport, whose two-year term is set to expire.

Dr. Michael Kerkloh

The long-standing Munich Airport CEO has repeatedly shown his willingness to make commitments on behalf of the specific concerns and industries of the German air transportation industry. Kerkloh plans to use his new position as ADV president, among other purposes, to raise public awareness of the role of airports as a driving force for economic growth and employment: “Aviation is already responsible for 850,000 jobs in Germany today. It plays a key role in generating value in our country. If we want our economy to maintain its strong position among global competitors in the long term, then our aviation infrastructure must keep pace with expanding mobility needs,” said Kerkloh.

Kerkloh added, however, that growth targets cannot be pursued for their own sake. Instead, the real priority must be to improve the overall efficiency of the transportation infrastructure through effective capacity expansion measures at German airports and better networking of transportation modes. Michael Kerkloh: “As ADV president I will work hard in Berlin and Brussels on behalf of Germany’s competitiveness as an aviation location. In view of the difficult economic outlook and the demonstrably negative effects of the aviation tax, additional burdens on Germany’s airports must definitely be avoided.” Kerkloh also announced that he will be stepping up efforts to enhance the public acceptance of the aviation industry and its expansion projects.