The Minister of Tourism and Employment, Jéssica de León, requested on Wednesday in the Parliament of the Canary Islands that Aena refrain from increasing airport fees planned for the end of 2026, considering it detrimental to the connectivity and economy of the archipelago.
The Minister of Tourism and Employment of the Canary Government, Jéssica de León, has demanded on Wednesday that Aena reverse its plan to raise airport fees at the end of 2026. In a speech during a parliamentary committee session, the minister argued that the increase, in a context of persistent inflation, would raise the cost of air travel and hit particularly hard a fragmented and ultra-peripheral territory like the Canary Islands.
De León recalled that for the past three years, a policy of containment of these fees has been maintained and criticized Aena for now wanting to break that dynamic. “We cannot allow fee increases every year in the Canary Islands,” she stated, while emphasising that the archipelago cannot be treated like any continental territory. The minister insisted that Aena must prioritise its role in territorial cohesion, both between the islands and with the mainland, and take into account the status of the Canary Islands as an Outermost Region (RUP).
The minister linked the fee increase to a potential negative impact on the competitiveness of the Canary Islands as a tourist destination and on connectivity with the main source markets. “They intend to raise the rates as if our territory were not an RUP, as if there were no fragmented territory and as if connectivity were not essential for the citizens and the economy of the archipelago,” she pointed out. De León warned that the fee increase would ultimately affect hotels, restaurants, and shops, and, in the end, the citizens of the Canary Islands themselves.
The minister also referred to the report from the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), which, she said, acknowledges the specific reality of the Canary Islands and supports a pricing policy that takes into account its status as an RUP. In contrast, she criticized Aena's strategy for going in the opposite direction. “What is happening is profoundly unjust because Aena intends to appropriate part of the economic return generated by the tourism sector,” she denounced.
De León also rejected the notion that the fee increase is proposed as a condition for executing the investments planned by Aena in the Canary airports. She argued that the airports of the archipelago already generate sufficient profitability to sustain those investments. “The Canary Islands cannot accept the blackmail of choosing between a fee increase or new investments,” she stated, considering that both issues should not be linked.
The minister concluded her speech by urging Aena to desist from the announced increase for the end of 2026 and the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility to promote airport policies that take into account the RUP status, territorial cohesion, and the fragmentation of the archipelago. “A radical shift in Aena's policies with the Canary Islands is necessary to prevent residents in the archipelago from being harmed,” she concluded.
The minister's request comes at a time when the Canary tourism sector, a driver of the regional economy, faces challenges such as inflation and competition from other destinations. The increase in airport fees, if confirmed, could translate into higher ticket prices, affecting both tourists and residents who need to fly to travel between islands or to the mainland. The Canary Government hopes that Aena will reconsider its decision and that the central government will address the demands of the archipelago.
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