Aena intends to raise airport taxes by more than 4%, a measure that has been met with a resounding no from the tourism sector on the islands.
A war is coming in the Canarian tourism sector. When all forecasts and studies indicate that Spanish tourism is on track to break historical records with numbers close to 265 million travelers and situations close to tourist saturation in the Canary Islands or the Balearic Islands; Aena proposes an increase in airport taxes of more than 4%.
An unpopular measure that in the Canary Islands already has a unanimous answer: no. The airlines that operate in the various Canarian airports reject the increase and consider that applying it would be to bring a sudden halt to the growth that has been experienced in the sector after the pandemic, where critical moments were experienced in the aeronautical and tourism sector with a multitude of companies. headed to closure.
For their part, businessmen in the islands' tourism sector have considered it "brazen" on the part of Aena to propose a rate increase when during the first half of this year they have exceeded the profits of 2019.
The tension in this situation has been evident since its proposal. Associations related to the aeronautical sector assure that airlines are still facing many economic difficulties, among other things due to the increase in fuel prices due to the conflict in Ukraine, an issue that does not seem to have a solution in the short term.
Airlines representatives also assure that this increase means slowing the growth that many companies are carrying out after the pandemic with the acquisition of new aircraft or the implementation of new routes.
And of course, if it materializes, the increase will mean an increase in the prices of tickets and services offered by airlines, reducing the growth of the economic engine of the Canary Islands and one of the main ones in the national territory.
