The latest advertising campaign by Aena, a Spanish state-owned company that thrives in the Canary Islands on the Maspalomas business and maintains loss-making airports like the one in Valladolid, titled "Another Day Without Airports," has sparked outrage in the Canary Islands. The Air and Space Mobility Observatory, a body affiliated with the Royal Economic Society of Friends of Gran Canaria (RSEAPGC), accuses the public company of perpetuating a "rancid centralism" that ignores the archipelagos, while ridiculing its own professional image with advertisements "without technical basis and offensive to pilots." But beyond the criticism of the communications strategy, the Observatory is once again bringing up a debate that has been ongoing for a decade: why doesn't the Canary Islands directly manage its airports?
Statute of Autonomy versus private interests
The organization points out that Article 161 of the Canary Islands Statute of Autonomy authorizes the transfer of airports of general interest to the autonomous community. The State renounced direct management in 2014, when it opened the door to private capital with the stock market listing of 49% of Aena. "If the State withdrew, it is logical that management would be transferred to the Canary Islands, and not to London-based investment funds," they point out, referring to the TCI fund, the main private shareholder.
The clash of interests is evident: TCI calls for the protection of the single national grid model, while the Canary Islands—along with other regions—insists on co-governance.
Canarian heritage, converted into national coffers
The Observatory also denounces the Ministry of Transport's "misuse" of the island's airport assets. The Canary Islands' airports, largely built on land donated by island councils and town councils, generate profits that are transferred to Aena's joint fund. "This money doesn't go back to improve the islands' connectivity or offset their structural cost overruns," they warn. In the case of Gran Canaria Airport, the example is paradigmatic: its Master Plan is still the obsolete 2001 one, blocking industrial investment in the area and keeping hundreds of residents in a state of urban planning uncertainty. Furthermore, despite being one of the busiest airports in the country, it was excluded from Aena's latest investment plan.
A question of economic survival
The criticism is not only legal or political, but existential. "In an ultraperipheral, oceanic, and fragmented archipelago, air transport is not an option; it is the only fast track to connectivity," the Observatory emphasizes. Hence, every decision by Aena has a direct impact on tourism, the export of fresh produce, and territorial cohesion. The message is clear: the advertising campaign acted as a spark, but the fire has been brewing for years. Airport centralization threatens to relegate the Canary Islands to a secondary role within the national network, despite the fact that its airports are strategic for both tourism and intercontinental traffic.
