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Ryanair blames Spanish airport fees for flight price hike
The budget airline has lodged an appeal against the decision in Spain to increase charges
Irish airline Ryanair has this week lodged a formal appeal against Spanish airport operator Aena’s decision to increase airport charges, claiming it goes against the government’s ruling to freeze charges for five years and will force airlines to ramp up the price of tickets even more.
The budget carrier accused the Spanish company of a “brazen attempt to ignore the law.”
Last month, Aena’s announcement that it planned to hike up airport fees for airlines by more than 4% from March next year was met with considerable backlash from carriers.
In theory, the rates for airlines are supposed to be frozen until 2026 given the financial climate, but the law does allow Aena to pass on any extraordinary costs that are out of their control. In this case, one of the main reasons behind the decision is the increase in energy and fuel costs in recent months, as well as record-breaking demand for flights.
Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said: “Aena’s attempt to circumvent the five year charge freeze imposed by the Spanish government in 2021 runs counter to government policy to support growth.
“The Spanish government took the sensible decision at the height of the pandemic to impose a charge freeze for five years across all Spanish airports, positioning itself as one of the most competitive countries across Europe for attracting European short-haul capacity – which has become increasingly scarce across Europe.
“As a direct result of this decision, Spain is now among the leading countries for post-Covid recovery, and now has more capacity than it did in 2019”.
This summer alone, Ryanair has increased its capacity in Spain by 12% and this year will operate over 40 million seats to and from the peninsula across 740 routes.
Mr Wilson added: “In a single move, Aena is seeking to undo all the good work to date to recover vital air connectivity in what is the biggest threat to Spanish tourism since Covid.
“Ryanair calls on the Spanish Council of Ministers and the Spanish Regulator (CNMC) to protect passengers and local economies by ensuring Aena continues to respect the ruling made by the Spanish Government in 2021 to freeze airport charges until 2027.”
In other news: 5 pets that will be banned in Spain from September
Image: airliners.net via Wikimedia Commons
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