2023-08-18 13:31:10
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has filed a formal appeal against the 4.09% increase in airfares announced by the airport manager Aena for March 2024, as the company announced this Friday in a statement.
As explained in the note, Ryanair asks the Council of Ministers and the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) to “protect” the growth in the number of passengers, ensuring that Aena “continue 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 “blatant 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 as of March 1, 2024, setting the maximum adjusted annual revenue per passenger (IMAAJ) for next year at 10,35 euroswhich 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, including the most relevant, who a few days later requested that the Council of Ministers will reject said increasesince it would lead to an increase in the cost of plane tickets.
From his point of view, it would also mean “a new setback” in the objective of maintaining the competitiveness of the tourism sector Spain, which is being, once again, the main engine of the recovery of employment and the Spanish economy.
Ryanair is now expressing itself in similar terms, stating that if Aena is allowed to go ahead with its initiative, “it will mean that airport charges will increase at 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 the covid”, he concludes.
According to airline data, this summer only, Ryanair has increased its capacity in Spain by 12%, and this year it will operate more than 40 million seats to/from the country through 740 routes. EFE
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