About Us

Airport Regions Council (ARC) stands as the collective voice of regional and local authorities hosting or adjacent to airports. Our organisation integrates a wealth of expertise at the intersection of airport operations and local/regional policies. We are dedicated to maximising benefits and minimising environmental impact, ultimately striving to improve the well-being of residents in airport regions.

Our Members

ARC represents a diverse array of member regions, encompassing both major European hubs and smaller airports poised for development. We offer comprehensive knowledge and support to our members, ranging from project assistance to facilitating engagement with EU institutions. Additionally, we provide valuable access to grants and programs, empowering our members to thrive in the aviation sector.

Austria

Vienna City Council

Belgium

Vlaams-Brabant Provincial Government

The Walloon Company of Airports (SOWAER)

Czech Republic

Prague Airport Region

Finland

Vantaa City Council

France

L'Institut Paris Region

Germany

Dahme Spreewald City Council

Rhein-Neckar Metropolitan Government

FrankfurtRheinMain Regional Authority

Greece

Western Greece Regional Government

Hungary

Budapest XVIII District Government

Ireland

Fingal County Council

Israel

Eilat City Council & Eilot Regional Government

Malta

Malta Government Aviation Department

Netherlands

Rotterdam City Council

Norway

Gardermoren Regional Intermunicipal Political Council

Akershus County Council

Portugal

Porto Metropolitan Authority

Slovakia

Kosice Self-governing Region

Spain

Barcelona City Council

Castelldefels City Council

El Prat de Llobregat City Council

Gavà City Council

Catalonia Regional Government

Ingenio City Council (Canary Islands)

Viladecans City Council

Murcia Regional Government

Sweden

Härryda City Council

Ukraine

Boryspil City Council

Meet The Team

Sergi Alegre Calero
Director General

sergi.alegre@airportregions.org

Sergi Alegre (PhD) joined ARC as Director General in September 2018. Previously he served for seven years as the President of ARC. At the same time, he was the Vice-Mayor of the City of El Prat where the airport of Barcelona is located. In El Prat, he was responsible for urban planning, mobility and environmental issues for more than twenty years. He is and has been involved in many European projects, participated in events as a key speaker and dealt with negotiations on airports and aviation issues.

Dimitra Ballard
Administrative Officer

dimitra.ballard@airportregions.org

Dimitra Ballard joined ARC in October 2020. She is in charge of the day-to-day administration of the ARC Secretariat, as well as project administration and reporting. She has worked for several international associations.

She holds a Master’s degree in translation. and speaks English, French, German and Dutch.

Alexandra Covrig
Senior Project Manager

alexandra.covrig@ airportregions.org

Alexandra Covrig has been working for the ARC since 2016. She is in charge of the preparation and follow-up of EU-funded projects, also acting as the Communication Manager in the respective projects. She mainly contributes to the communication, dissemination and exploitation activities, but also to the technical reporting of projects.

She holds a joint Master’s degree in Communication Science and European Studies and speaks Romanian, English, and French.

Andrea Ivasivka
Senior Policy Researcher

andrea.ivasivka@airportregions.org

Andrea Ivasivka joined ARC in January 2022 as a Policy Manager. Andrea has more than 20 years of extensive experience in the aviation field, focusing primarily on legal and policy matters and worked for more international aviation associations. She holds a Master’s degree in law and a bar exam, Bachelor’s Degree in International Transportation and Foreign Economic Relations.

She speaks English, Italian and Hungarian.

Lili Pesti
Communication Officer

lili.pesti@airportregions.org

Lili Pesti joined ARC in March 2023. She is responsible for creative communication, publications, social media, web design, and newsletters. She also supports the communication efforts of the EU-funded projects on which ARC is working.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media Science, and speaks English and Hungarian.

Bentor Iván Trujillo Rodríguez
Policy Trainee

bentor.trujillo@airportregions.org

Bentor Iván Trujillo Rodríguez joined ARC as a trainee in July 2024. He supports the day to day work of ARC such as attending key events and drafting reports on political developments and net zero climate target policies. He is pursuing a double degree in Law and Political Sciences in the Carlos III University of Madrid and has been awarded by the GIGAPP the “Institutionalisation of Public Policies Evaluation”.

He speaks Spanish, English and French.

Ana García Sainz-Pardo
Collaborative Researcher

ana.garcia@senasa.es

Ana García Sainz-Pardo worked with ARC during the ANIMA project as a Research Associate. Currently, Ana works for SENASA as an Environment and Airport Noise Specialist and collaborates with ARC on aviation noise issues. She holds MSc Civil Engineer & Bachelor's Degree in Law.

You can contact Ana in English and Spanish.

Dr. Johanna Sonnenburg
Collaborative Researcher

johanna.sonnenburg@metropolitanstudies.de

Dr. Johanna Sonnenburg joined ARC in January 2024 as a Collaborative Researcher in the field of Urban Development in Airport Regions. Johanna has more than 15 years of experience in Airport related urban development, especially Sustainable urban design, Participatory planning, Public-private cooperation models, Placemaking/Real estate concepts, and Infrastructure and Mobility. She holds a PhD in Urban Planning around Airports and a MSc/Diploma in Architecture and Urban Design.

She speaks English, German, Spanish and Russian.

Ignasi Ragas
Collaborative Researcher

iragas@iragas.es

Ignasi Ragas is an economist specialising in transport and planning. With 38 years of experience in local and regional government and consultancy, he has played a key role in shaping aviation policies in Barcelona and Catalonia. Ignasi was instrumental in the launch of the ARC, where he served as its first formal Secretary General. He possesses extensive knowledge in airport strategy, governance, airport city and area dynamics, air freight, and logistics. Throughout his career, Ignasi has worked with and studied numerous airports and airport regions across Europe, the United States, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Photos by Smiles & Focus

Assembly & ExCom

Assembly and Executive Committee

The ARC assembly, comprising all members, convenes twice yearly as the supreme authority of the association. General meetings occur quarterly, chaired by the President of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee, appointed by the assembly for three-year terms, oversees ARC's operations in their bi-annual meetings. Members of the Executive Committee serve without remuneration during their tenure.

Erich Valentin

President

Erich Valentin is a member of the Vienna City Council and Provincial Parliament, where he acts as chairman of the Committee for Innovation, Urban planning and Mobility. He is also responsible for environmental issues and public transport in Vienna and the Centrope region. Based on this function, he takes care of the mediation process at Vienna Airport in cooperation with Vienna International Airport. Mr Valentin has been active in the ARC affairs for many years. He was elected ARC President in 2018.

Gemma Badia

Vice-President

Gemma Badia has become mayor of Gavà (Barcelona) in 2021. The new mayor has a diploma in Business Sciences, a technical in Marketing and a technical in Business Management from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), as well as a postgraduate degree in Advertising from EAE Business School, and has been a councillor in Gavà since 2015 and since July 2019 she held the post of deputy mayor of the Area of Public Space, Security and Coexistence.

Jordi Candela Garriga

Vice-President

Jordi Candela Garriga has been the Managing Director of Aeroports de Catalunya, Airport operator of the airports belonging to the Generalitat of Catalonia, since 2010. Mr Candela holds a Master of Science in Transport Engineering, Degree in Management & Business Administration and Degree in Law. Previous professional experience include Ifercat (regional railway operator of Catalonia), Abertis Infraestructuras, and Everis consulting. In the airport sector, he was involved in the acquisition and management of the airport group TBIplc by Abertis, the development of Abertis Airports, as well as many airport tender processes. Additionally, he works as a teacher in various masters and postgraduates programmes in infrastructure management and is the author of several articles and studies in aviation.

Pekka Timonen

Vice-President

Pekka Timonen is mayor of Vantaa. Vantaa is the 4th largest city in Finland with 250,000 inhabitants. Vantaa is part of the Greater Helsinki Metropolitan area and home of Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport.
Developing better cities has been his passion and profession for over 20 years. During his career Timonen has been mayor of Lahti, secretary general at the Prime Minister´s Office, and cultural director of the city of Helsinki. He has also worked as a business leader.
Timonen holds an MA in history. He is a regular speaker at international conferences on sustainable city development, placemaking, and urban change management. In 2018 he was awarded as the Spokesperson of the Year in Finland.

Rouven Kötter

Vice-President

Rouven Kötter is Deputy Director of Regionalverband FrankfurtRheinMain, a regional authority responsible for land use planning and regional development in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main area. Mr Kötter also is Chairman of the European Office of the Metropolitan Region FrankfurtRheinMain and non-executive director of different regional corporations for business development and culture. Rouven Kötter holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master in Public Administration. He served as mayor of Wölfersheim – a town near Frankfurt – for ten years. Mr Kötter was elected member of ARC’s Executive Committee in April 2018.

Vladimír Vytiska

Vice-President

Vladimír Vytiska is a Chair of the Prague Airport Region. Mr Vytiska, with a diploma in economics, had been the elected Mayor of Únetice in the past for twenty years. He has also studied music and is an active musician. Mr Vytiska has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2010.

About Us

Our Members

Meet The Team