On 10 November 2021, the ECR CoR Group President, Marshal Władysław Ortyl, President of Podkarpackie region, participated in a debate on the future of regional airports and the need for a common plan to support the rebuilding of airports after the pandemic, organised by the Regional Airport Council (ARC). Marshal Ortyl presented proposals on the opportunities and challenges for regional airports' future. He drew particular attention to the difficult situation of regional airports as a result of the pandemic, stressing their importance for economic recovery and sustainable development. 

President Ortyl referred to the key role of hydrogen, the clean fuel of the future, including for aviation: 

"More and more hydrogen valleys are being created in Europe, including in the Northern Netherlands, in Abruzzo in Central Italy and also in Poland, in Podkarpackie region. This is topic that the ECR Group at the European Committee of the Regions, which I chair, follows very closely. Last week we organised a Localism Summit in Drenthe in the Northern Netherlands on the use of new technologies and the development of the hydrogen economy." 

In his presentation, Marshal Ortyl also explained the importance of regional airports for economy and jobs, emphasising that they had been hit particularly hard by the pandemic and expressing hopes that with concentrated efforts things could return to normal by 2024: 

"Aviation in Europe accounted for 25.9 % of global passenger traffic. This directly and indirectly provided more than 13.5 million jobs and contributed EUR 991 billion to the economy. Some 1.7 million people were employed by airport operators, who cooperate with airports. We would like to return to the same levels of activity as in 2019 by 2024. I believe that this is within our reach and I hope that we will take this opportunity".

The webinar focused on the need to help regions and airports survive the COVID-19 pandemic. The debate was organised from Brussels and it brought together remote participants from many corners of Europe. Marshal Władysław Ortyl is the spokesperson of the CoR on the future of regional airports. His opinion on this topic was adopted in July 2021.