Ryanair Condemns Proposals to Increase Fees at Portuguese Airports
“There is no justification for a 15 per cent increase in ANA’s already high airport fees, especially when Portuguese air and tourist traffic is still recovering after the pandemic and should be supported with lower airport fees,” Ryanair pointed out in this regard, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
ANA, which belongs to the French company Vinci, on Tuesday, October 4, also presented a proposal about updating the regulated airport fees. It was emphasized that the effective date of the proposal will be February 1, 2023, according to the new model provided in the concession contract for the period 2023 until the end of the concession.
Commenting on this situation, Ryanair Director for Portugal, Elena Cabrera, said that there is no justification for ANA’s excessive increase in airport charges, precisely now when Portugal is still recovering from the pandemic.
Previously, Portuguese authorities revealed that starting September 13, passengers in the country would be charged an additional €3.54 for each passenger on board, regardless of destination.
As explained by local media, the fee is 20 per cent lower than the amount charged since February, which was €2.95, as the government represented the first increase introduced this year.
In addition, this increase will be applied to all national airports, where the security fee will become a source of income for the manager of these units.
The state airline, TAP Air Portugal, has also received criticism for high prices, where the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said that the airline costs a lot of money for the Portuguese.
In this regard, Ryanair supported the President’s claims, saying that TAP Air Portugal continues to receive €3.2 billion from state aid while charging passengers high fees, thus damaging the Portuguese tourist market and economic growth.
Moreover, the Online Economy (ECO) report revealed that last year the total amount of money paid for air tickets by travelers to TAP Air Portugal reached €643 million.
The report also found that although the amount recorded in the pending flight documents is below the €657.7 million recorded at the end of June, it was cited as a relevant issue by the auditor.