Spain allows airport operator Aena to raise tariffs by 4% this year

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish airport operator Aena will be able to increase the fees it charges airlines by 4.09% to make up for inflation and rising energy prices, the Spanish cabinet decided on Tuesday in a move criticised by low-cost airlines, such as Ryanair.

The Spanish government said its decision was in line with steps taken by most other European airports, which have increased airport tariffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and high inflation. Aena is 51% owned by the Spanish state.

Its president Maurici Lucena recently said that despite the increase Spanish airports would charge less per passenger than before the pandemic and less than its main European competitors.

In London, Heathrow has approved a 4.5% increase in tariffs for 2023, while Amsterdam's Schiphol airport has raised them by 12% in 2023 and plans to increase it again this year, the Spanish government said. Frankfurt airport is planning a 9.5% increase this year.

Ryanair, the leading passenger airline in Spain, had asked for the tariff increase to be reversed.

Ryanair said earlier this month it had decided to open five new bases in Spain, targeting 40% growth in the country by 2030, but that was based on its belief that charges would not go up until 2026.

In 2021, Spain approved a freeze on airline fees to become more competitive and help the air transport sector recover.

Aena will offer tariff reductions of between 15% and 70% at the airports of the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, depending on the flights, to mitigate the effect of the increase.

(Reporting by Corina Pons,; Editing by Catarina Demony and Tomasz Janowski)