We informed yesterday that Aena would soften their charge increases or even freeze them despite the agreement reached in 2013. Today, the Spanish Minister of Development has announced the charges will be definitely frozen in 2015.
Thus, Aena published this morning a press release which we have translated as follows:
Pastor announces the airport charges will be frozen for 2015 and extends the incentives
- Proposes a cero increase instead of the expected 4.5%
- The savings achieved thanks to the cost reduction plan in the last two years, together with the traffic increase make this possible
- Aena forgoes income by 151 million Euros (77 because of the freezing and 74 because of the incentive extension)
- Airlines will be informed about this proposal within the consultation process
Madrid, 6 May 2014 (Minister of Development)
The Minister of Fomento, Ana Pastor, has announced today that the airport charges will be frozen in 2015 and the incentives will be extended. This will mean that fees will have a cero increase instead of the expected 4.5%.
After informing to the airlines, Aena will propose this freezing to the National Markets and Competition Commission. Afterwards it will be added to the General Budget for 2015.
This proposal means, in fact, no increase for the 2015 charges with regard to 2014 in spite of the fact that an agreement had already been reached for the charge increase to be no more than 4.5%.
This measure will be effective from March 2015. In 2014 the average price increase was 0.9% instead of 2.5% that was the maximum increase fixed by the regulation. This was intended for the Aena’s cost recovery after investing 18,000 million Euros within then years.
Aena will forgo income by 77 million Euros for this reason. The measure is sustainable thanks to two main reasons. On the one hand, thanks to the cost reduction plan performed by Aena which supposed savings by 320 million Euros between 2011 and 2013.
On the other hand, traffic is increasing in the net as a whole, especially in airports like Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat and the touristic airports. In particular, in April, the Aena airports had over 16.2 million passengers, 9.2% more than the same period of 2013. Moreover, for the first time in 30 months (since September 2011) National traffic has positive figures (+4%).
Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas registered 3.4 million travellers inApril, 7.6% more. Barcelona-El Prat has grown by 10.8%, exceeding the amount of 3.1 million passengers. Palma de Mallorca increases by 5.5% in passengers (1.7 million); Alicante-Elche reaches 907,000 passengers (9.6%) and Málaga-Costa del Sol has over 1.2 million passengers (12.8%).
Extension of the incentives until 2015
Aena will inform to the airline representatives on their proposal for freezing charges and, furthermore, on the extension until 2015 of the incentives which are in force since 1 January 2014 at all airports.
These incentives mean a reduction of 50% in the passenger charge for additional passengers in a route which had been previously operated. They mean a reduction of 75% in the passenger charge if that route is a non operated destination.
Also, if the airline maintains the number of passenger in the subsidised route within the next year, those subsidies will reach 75% for the already operated routes and 100% for the non operated destinations.
Moreover, passengers connecting flights at an airport increase the fee subsidy until 35% (in 2013 it was 20% and in 2014 30%).
In cargo flights, the incentives to be kept are the charge exemption for cargo connecting two flights and the 50% bonus for the cargo charge in international flights.
Aena forgoes income by 151 million Euros (74 because of the incentive extension until 2015, apart from 77 million because of the airport charge freezing).
Incentives on Insularity, seasonality and valley days
Apart from the cero increase in 2015 and the extension of the incentives which are in force from 2014, Aena will keep other incentives which were approved previously. It is worth nothing three types:
- Incentives on Insularity: In the airports of the Balearics, the Canaries, Ceuta and Melilla, landing and passenger fees have a bonus of 15% in flights with the mainland and 70% in interisland flights.
- Seasonality: In the seasonal airports of the Balearics, the Canaries, Ceuta and Melilla, the charges to departing passengers will be reduced by 20% during the season which has less traffic.
- Valley Days: In the airports of the Canary Islands, 50% of the amounts due to landing and passengers is subsidised for those flights operated on those days of the week when the airports are not bussy, except for the interisland flights which already have 70% off.
For further information keep an eye on this blog.
Photo: New Barcelona airport terminal / Wikimedia Commons
