ryanair cuts canary islands flights aena fees

Ryanair slams ‘excessive’ Aena fees as it cuts Canary Islands flights

Ryanair sounds alarm over Canary Islands flight cuts

Ryanair has warned this Monday that it is reducing its air traffic at Canary Islands airports because of what it describes as excessive fees charged by Aena. The airline claims it has already disappeared from Tenerife North Airport and that its overall capacity across the rest of the islands has fallen by 6 per cent.

Government accused of driving airlines away

Ryanair argues that despite holding a 51 per cent stake and being responsible for setting pricing policy, the Spanish government is forcing airlines out of Spanish regions. In the company’s view, the government is choosing to maximise cash returns by allowing Aena to abuse its monopoly position at Spain’s main airports, securing excessive profit margins of 60 per cent at the expense of local economies that depend on affordable air travel for tourism and jobs.

Foreign investment versus regional development

The government is also supporting multi-billion-euro investments abroad, with 800 million euros directed towards Aena’s airports in the United Kingdom and Brazil over the past 12 months, in addition to billions already committed to other non-Spanish airports. Ryanair points out that its traffic at regional airports will continue to decline following a reduction of three million seats in regional airport capacity over the last 18 months.

Growth potential hinges on competitive fees

Ryanair says it will grow at Spain’s main airports, where Aena intends to consolidate airline traffic at the expense of balanced regional development. The airline concludes that if competitive airport fees are introduced, it could achieve 40 per cent growth in Spain, adding 33 new based aircraft, opening five new regional bases, and increasing Spanish traffic to 77 million passengers per year by 2031.

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