Alex Trelinski
RYANAIR has lodged a formal appeal against plans by Spain’s airport operator Aena to end a five year freeze on airport charges.
The cap was introduced by Aena in 2021 to aid the post-Covid recovery of tourism and employment.
Ryanair’s CEO, Eddie Wilson, said: “The Spanish government took the sensible decision at the height of the pandemic to impose a charge freeze for five years across all Spanish airports, positioning itself as one of the most competitive countries across Europe for attracting European short-haul capacity.”
Ryanair has called on the Council of Ministers and competition regulator, the CNMC, to ‘protect passengers and local economies by ensuring Aena continues to respect the 2021 ruling’.
“This is a brazen attempt to ignore the law, which aims to increase the competitiveness of Spain through a freeze in charges, “ said Eddie Wilson.
“Aena is seeking to undo all the good work to date to recover vital air connectivity in what is the biggest threat to Spanish tourism since Covid,” he added.
The airline says it has grown its summer capacity by 12% in Spain and is offering over 40 million seats this year to and from the country across 700 routes.
“If Aena are allowed to proceed with this charge increase, this will mean airport charges will rise at every airport in Spain, including peripheral island regions like the Canaries and Balearics, where air connectivity is essential for local communities,” Wilson concluded.
There has been no comment so far from Aena or the government, as well as no indication as to how much fares will rise by if the charges freeze ends early.
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