aena red line canary islands airport control

Aena Draws Red Line on Canary Islands Airport Control

Aena’s Economic Argument Against Airport Transfer

Aena has delivered another blow to the Canary Islands, this time using an economic argument. The president of the semi-public company, Maurici Lucena, made it clear on Thursday that the current airport model is legally and financially protected. He highlighted that the company’s private capital is worth close to €20 billion. Consequently, any transfer or co-management of the infrastructures could lead major international investors, who are watching the debate opened with the Canaries “with concern”, to take any changes to court. “There is a great deal of worry,” he acknowledged.

Political Offensive Meets Immovable Object

The political offensive by Fernando Clavijo’s government to gain power in managing its airports collided on Thursday with this new red line laid down by Lucena. He was renewing his position at a shareholders’ meeting. He joined this with another already known stance: there will be no transfer, no co-management, and any regional participation will be limited to a merely advisory “reinforced cooperation” with no decision-making power. The direct translation for the Canary Islands is that the Archipelago may have a seat at the table, but no say. Control of its airports will remain, without exception, in Aena’s hands.

Negotiations Complicated by Firm Stance

This is a red line the company has drawn in thick ink just six days after a meeting between the State and the Autonomous Community initiated negotiations. In that meeting, representatives of the central administration assured that no limits would be set. Lucena again acted as a defender of the private interests of the minority shareholders (49%) against the public ones (51%), as both President Clavijo and the Minister of Public Works, Pablo Rodríguez, accused him of doing. Faced with Canarian aspirations, the only outlet Aena offers is a model of participation without real power. The example is the agreement with the Basque Country: a bilateral body but strictly advisory and with no binding effects. That is the ceiling.

Lucena Goes Further Than the Transport Minister

Lucena has gone further than the Transport Minister himself, Óscar Puente. On Wednesday, Puente told CC deputy in Congress, Cristina Valido, that he was “absolutely open” to reinforcing coordination with the Canary Islands in managing its airports, though he omitted that it would only be advisory and not binding. In fact, during his address to the shareholders’ meeting, Lucena appealed to “not fix what isn’t broken” and attacked what he called “sterile political proposals”. The top executive of Aena is also unmoved by the Canary Islands citing Article 161 of its Statute of Autonomy, insisting that “the constitutional framework is incompatible with the requests of some autonomous communities”.

“It is an exclusive competence of the State and a transfer of assets or concession is incompatible with the requests of some autonomous communities, as it falls outside the legal and constitutional framework. Nor is management of Aena’s airports compatible, which corresponds solely to the company,” he maintained.

Canarian Government Cites Statute of Autonomy

On this point, the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Pablo Rodríguez, reminded Lucena upon hearing his statements that the Canarian Statute itself establishes that participation in airports must occur “under the terms determined by state regulations”. This opens the door to formulas that do not question ownership or the overall management of the network, but do allow the Canaries to play a relevant role in strategic decisions.

In a less aggressive and more diplomatic tone than on previous occasions, presumably due to the open bilateral negotiations with the Ministry of Territorial Policy, the minister argued that “the debate is not about transfer yes or no, or having a seat on the Board of Directors, as Aena seems to suggest. The debate is how to articulate effective participation of the Canary Islands within the current legal framework, and that is exactly what we are negotiating with the State,” he stressed.

For Rodríguez, Lucena “defends a specific business model, which is legitimate, but the Government of the Canary Islands is defending compliance with our Statute of Autonomy,” which recognises the Archipelago’s right to participate in the planning and management of airports of general interest.

Bilateral Negotiations at a Critical Juncture

Lucena’s statements come at a time of maximum political pressure from the Canary Islands and with bilateral negotiations open between the two administrations. These will become more complicated after confirming that the semi-public company will not budge an inch. For this reason, the minister reminds Aena’s president that there is a bilateral negotiation underway that “has a clear roadmap and counts on the involvement of the Government of Spain.”

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