The Council of Ministers launched this Tuesday the major investment announced of 13 billion euros in Spanish airports until 2031 after making a Solomon-like decision regarding one of the most controversial elements, the review of the fees paid by each traveler to cover infrastructure costs.
The tariff increase will be minimal, 0.33% annually or just three cents per passenger, accumulating 1.65% over five years. It is a decision closer to the CNMC’s criteria than to those of Aena and the airlines. While the regulator advocated an annual reduction of 0.5%, Aena supported an increase of 3.8%, or 43 cents per year, compared to the airlines’ proposal from the ALA association, which saw a nearly 5% reduction as feasible.
“It is a very contained increase and our fees will be among the lowest internationally,” said the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, after the Council of Ministers meeting. He also recalled that the investments will come from Aena’s revenues, so they will not require public funds. It will be “one of the largest investment and transformation processes of the airport network,” he stated.
The airlines were quick to react. ALA insists that a reduction in airport fees was possible but appreciates that the increase is not excessive. “We recognize that a moderate tariff path has been established, although we hope it does not again translate into a period where Aena obtains an excess regulated return,” said Javier Gándara, president of ALA.
Almost 10 billion in regulated investments
The Government’s goal is to mobilize 9.991 billion euros in regulated investments, including 4.477 billion for Barajas and another 1.962 billion for Catalonia, of which 1.765 billion will be allocated to the first phase of El Prat’s expansion. There will also be 1.807 billion for the Canary Islands airports, 1.270 billion for those in Valencia, and 1 billion for the Balearic Islands.
The plan is reflected in the airport regulation document until 2031, known as DORA III, which includes the largest investment effort in the history of this type of facility. It far exceeds the amounts programmed in previous five-year plans and partly responds to the need to decongest airports due to the strong increase in traffic.
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Aena will design a new strategic plan with 3 billion in additional investments beyond the regulated ones
The new DORA III will require, among other things, Aena to design a new strategic plan for the coming years in which, apart from the regulated investments, another 3 billion will be included for activities in other areas, mainly commercial.
One of the key elements for calculating the fee increase is demand revision. The Government estimates that by the end of the period the network will exceed 358 million passengers per year, below the 366 million forecast by the CNMC, but a figure higher than Aena’s 346 million. More passengers means a lower fee per person.
The forecast is that annual demand will exceed 358 million passengers in 2031
The Government maintains that the investment effort will allow continued modernization and improvement of the infrastructure and services complementing airport activity, strengthening the commercial offer and passenger experience. There will be a commitment, it says, to environmental and safety elements. “Sustainability is a key part of the future of airports,” Puente assured.
For Transport, the new plan represents an “investment leap,” far exceeding the 2.25 billion of DORA II still in force or the 2.185 billion of the first document of this type, for the five-year period between 2017 and 2021.
The investments come at a time when several airports show signs of saturation, especially Barcelona, where operations are shifting to off-peak hours and larger aircraft to continue increasing traffic. Since 2024, the state network has only accumulated successive activity records.
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