Alex Trelinski
THE boss of Spain’s airport operator, Aena, says he’s happy to meet with his Ryanair counterpart so long as he ‘calms down’ over the current dispute over regional airport taxes and big fines.
Maurici Lucena said on Wednesday that stunts by Ryanair chief, Michael O’Leary- like appearing with a clown with the face of Consumer Affairs minister, Pablo Bustinduy, to protest massive penalties over hand luggage rules- achieved nothing.
Lucena said: “We are waiting for them with open arms if they calm down and return to treating everyone normally and respectfully.”
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He added that Ryanair should look at how it conducts relations with institutions and that the Spanish government ‘deserves respect’.
Lucena also praised the Irish carrier for its ‘operational excellence’.
“Michael O’Leary has revolutionised the airline sector for the better with cheap travel and being the chief protagonist of that transformation,” he added.
“All the citizens of the world have to be grateful to them because before Ryanair, air travel was a luxury.”
Over the scrapping of 800,000 seats by Ryanair involving Spanish regional airports over alleged high taxes, Lucena indicated he is talking with airports- especially those at Jerez and Valladolid- to find carriers that can fill the gap.
Volotea earlier this month volunteered to pick up some of the slack.
Maurici Lucena also stated that Aena has a permanent dialogue with Ryanair, as it is the company with the largest market share in Spain, but appealed for ‘respect’.
