The ‘low cost’ airline, Ryanair, charges against Aena. The Irish company has filed a formal appeal against the 4.09% increase in air taxes announced by the national airport manager for March of next year. Asó has confirmed this by the company in a statement where it asks the Council of Ministers and the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) to “protect” the growth in the number of passengers, making sure that Aena “continues to respect the decision taken by the Spanish Government in 2021 to freeze airport taxes until 2027”.
In the opinion of the airline, it is a “discarded attempt to ignore the law”, which “intends to increase the competitiveness of Spain through the freezing of rates.” On July 25, Aena’s board of directors approved the tariff proposal applicable from March 1, 2024, setting the maximum adjusted annual revenue per passenger (IMAAJ) for the coming year at 10.35 euros, which represents a variation of 4.09% compared to the data for 2023, which was 9.95 euros per traveler.
The decision soon received criticism from the Spanish Tourism Board, which brings together 100 businessmen and professionals in the sector, among them the most relevant, who a few days later requested that the Council of Ministers reject said increase, since it would lead to more expensive plane tickets.
From his point of view, it would also mean “a new setback” in the objective of maintaining the competitiveness of the Spanish tourism sector, which is being, once again, the main engine of the recovery of employment and the Spanish economy.
Ryanair is now expressing himself in similar terms, stating that if Aena is allowed to go ahead with its initiative, “it will mean that airport taxes will affect all airports in Spain, including peripheral island regions such as the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, where air connectivity is essential”.
“With a single action, Aena endangers the vital air connectivity of Spain, which constitutes the greatest threat to Spanish tourism since Covid,” he concludes. According to the airline’s data, only this summer, Ryanair has suspected its capacity in Spain by 12%, and this year it will operate more than 40 million seats to/from the country through 740 routes.
