Spain’s Airports Chief Slams Ryanair

The chairman and CEO of Spain’s public airport operator issued a scathing message accusing Irish ultra-low-cost carrier Ryanair of bullying European governments and using “extortionist” business strategies after the airline slashed flights to and from several Spanish destinations earlier this week.

Ryanair and AENA, a state-owned firm that operates 46 airports and two heliports in Spain, are at odds over AENA’s decision to hike airport fees by 6.5%. Ryanair called the move “excessive and uncompetitive” and announced Wednesday that, in response, it will slash capacity by 600,000 seats in mainland Spain and 400,000 seats in the Canary Islands, amounting to a 16% cutback in operations in the country.

Ryanair is the largest airline in Spain based on passenger traffic.

AENA leader Maurici Lucena hit back with a lengthy statement calling Ryanair’s leadership dishonest and reckless in its pursuit of profits. He slammed the airline for, in his view, using economic sabotage to reverse regulations it disagrees with, and said it used similar tactics against officials in the U.K., Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, and elsewhere.

“Ryanair has a disturbingly plutocratic idea of the political system, i.e. it seeks to intimidate public opinion by slashing its flights, calls for the resignation of ministers from half of Europe and the president of the European Commission, mocks democratically elected politicians, and calls for laws to be changed in its favour because it believes that government decision-making should bend to the interests of the most economically powerful companies such as Ryanair, instead of protecting the ‘general interest,’” Lucena said.

‘Tourism Disaster’

AENA signaled over the summer that it would raise fees on airlines that use its airports by 6.5% to fund investments, including expansion and building projects.

Ryanair slammed the increase and announced late last month that it would cut flights over the coming winter, in what it called a “tourism disaster” for Spain. It also said AENA had “failed” the many regions of Spain that are economically dependent on foreign visitors.

Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said that while the carrier is still “committed to Spain”, it “cannot justify continued investment in airports whose growth is being stymied by excessive and uncompetitive charges.”

“It is shocking that, despite contributing €28bn (£24bn) to the Spanish economy and one in three tourists arriving on Ryanair flights, there is no willingness to collaborate to stimulate traffic in areas that need capacity, connectivity, and investment,” he said.

The airline said it will redeploy part of its winter capacity to more favorable markets, such as Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Sweden, and Morocco.

Ryanair has been noted for its at times confrontational approach with regulators and governments. It has clashed with the European Union over issues with the continent’s air traffic control system and recently directed frustrated passengers to a website called “Air Traffic Control Ruined Your Flight,” which contains a mocking animation of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the email addresses of European transportation ministers.

AENA’s Response

Lucena took issue with many of the points raised by Ryanair and said AENA actually has some of the most competitive rates in Europe. The carrier’s true frustration, he said, is that it cannot shift the cost of airport maintenance and improvement projects from itself and other airlines to the Spanish state and people.

“It is not true that Ryanair is genuinely concerned about the welfare of Spanish citizens and the competitiveness of the regions,” he said. “What Ryanair wants is to make more money, even if it is paid out of Spanish taxpayers’ pockets.”

Lucena emphasized that Ryanair has the final say over what airports it will or will not serve and said no “demonic force” compels the airline to be “one of AENA’s biggest customers.” Fees on airlines, he argued, fueled the improvements and efficiencies that made AENA’s facilities so attractive to Ryanair in the first place.

“If Spanish airports were to evolve to the tune of Ryanair’s demands, whining, cajoling, and unbearable extortionist strategies, they would cease to function well (as they do today) in the medium and long term, and would not be financially sustainable,” he said. “AENA and its shareholders (the State, i.e. Spanish citizens, and private investors) deserve at least the same respect as Ryanair’s shareholders.”

Rather than cooperate, Lucena concluded, Ryanair wants to exploit its high market share in Spain to reduce AENA to “vassalage.”

“It is truly a pity that Ryanair’s communications and institutional relations policy appears to be governed by hypocrisy, rudeness, and blackmail,” he said.

Ryanair currently flies to 23 airports in Spain, including destinations in the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.