Barely 48 hours after terrorists killed dozens at the entrance to Istanbul Atatürk Airport last week, a global traveller passing through the bustling hub would hardly know that such horrific attacks had taken place, save for the occasional X-ray screener wearing a small black ribbon to mourn the dead. Any additional security inside Atatürk’s cavernous international transfers terminal was discreet. There were no signs of soldiers or police on patrol with automatic rifles or dogs. Turkish authorities trusted in heavy security outside the terminal to allow for business-as-usual inside. Streams of travelers poured out of escalator banks into a football-field-sized international transfer terminal. They jabbered on iPhones in a multitude of languages, drank Starbucks coffees and crowded the duty-free shops. An animated din bounced off high walls, the cacophony of people getting on with their lives despite the certainty that extremist killings will happen again. Turkey promotes its 61-m-passenger-per-year airport as a symbol of globalisation, “a bridge between East and West,” according to a Turkish Airlines in-flight video. Two days after the attacks, the bridge was jam packed. The crowded terminal was a reminder that we still live in an era defined more by globalisation than by global terror. But you still had to wonder: would the free movement that is a hallmark of globalisation someday be curtailed? The bomb attacks were Turkey’s fourth this year, and were followed by two more horrendous attacks, at a cafe in Bangladesh and in a commercial district of Baghdad.<br/>
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A consortium led by Orix Corp. has started operating two major airports in and around Osaka Prefecture under an unprecedented 44-year privatisation contract through March 2060. Kansai Airports hopes to make Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport into “world-class airports,” said Yoshiyuki Yamaya, CEO of the consortium formed by Orix and Vinci Airports SAS of France. Kansai Airports plans to invest more than Y940b in the coming 44 years. For example, it envisages building a third terminal, designed exclusively for budget carriers, and accommodation facilities for early morning and late night passengers at Kansai International Airport in fiscal 2016, which ends in March 2017. It will also upgrade commercial facilities, including the opening of an airport-style duty-free shop in the city of Osaka next spring. To become more user-friendly for airlines as well, Kansai Airports will set landing fees carefully according to the season and route. The two airports have been expanding revenue and profit in recent years, thanks to increased traffic from budget carriers. <br/>
The sale of 60% stakes in the French airports of Nice Cote d'Azur and Lyon-Saint-Exupery has attracted at least 11 firm offers while two potential candidates have dropped out of the race for Nice, according to a media report. Bidders had until midday on Monday to submit their offers, with a decision due in August. According to Reuters, offers ranged from E750m to E900m for Nice and from E500m to E800m for Lyon, or a valuation of 13 to 14 times annual EBITDA earnings. The sale of France's two biggest regional airports is expected to yield up to E1.6b for the government, which had already sold out of Toulouse-Blagnac airport in 2014. Five companies or consortia are reported to have bid for Nice airport.<br/>
The government could intervene to help reduce major disruption at airports as strikes loom. One option is to use staff from other agencies such as Customs, he said. PM John Key said the strikes would cause "significant disruption" during school holidays. Cabinet had been briefed on contingency options yesterday, but Key declined to reveal what was being considered. "There are options available to the Government," Key said this morning. "Everything is going to be done to minimise the disruption to tourists and New Zealanders. "One of the three unions has settled, so there is a core of specialist staff there." Asked if temporary workers could be brought in from police and Customs to cover aviation security, Mr Key said, "potentially, yes". The strikes would not shut any airport, but would cause considerable delays unless other measures were taken, the Prime Minister said. Transport Minister Simon Bridges said since the collective agreement ended about a year ago. "There have been strong offers by the Civil Aviation Authority. If you compare it across the public sector they can be seen at the upper end of the kind of offers we see in this area. What you are seeing here is a strike notice that is designed to cause maximum disruption. Our hope is still that we can mediate this and have an amicable solution so it doesn't get to the position of strike."<br/>