“ANA regrets that Ryanair uses the update of airport taxes as a justification for its decision to reduce flights”, said the company responsible for managing airports in Portugal earlier this afternoon.
The statements follow the announcement that the Irish company will cancel air connections between Funchal and Marseille (France), Nuremberg (Germany) and Bergamo (Italy), from January 2024.
Faced with Ryanair’s arguments, which cites the increase in airport fees by ANA/Vinci as the reason for canceling the routes, ANA counters that “at Madeira airport the increase in fees corresponds to approximately 1 euro”. This “at a time when Ryanair tickets increased by almost 16 euros (+21%), compared to the previous same period (Summer 22)”, highlights the statement sent to the newsrooms.
According to ANA, Ryanair’s base in Madeira also benefits from an incentive program, “with a significant investment”.
On the other hand, he notes that “Madeira is one of the tourist destinations with the greatest potential for development in Europe” and that, in summer 2023, the Cristiano Ronaldo International airport “grew 10% compared to the same period of the previous year”.
“Airlines such as easyJet, Wizzair, Azores Airlines and Condor contributed to this growth”, insists ANA, pointing out that “several companies show a great interest in continuing to develop connectivity in Madeira”. In the cases of SATA (Boston and Toronto), easyJet (Geneve and Basel), Jet2 (Liverpool and Belfast) and wizzair (Rome), which have already confirmed new routes for the next summer of 2024.
The company also argues that, “according to a recent statement from ACI (Airport International Council) Europe, the increase in fares charged by airlines in Europe was +38% in the summer months (3rd quarter)” and maintains its “commitment to regions to continue to develop air connectivity by working in partnership and equitably with all airlines.”
The ANA further clarifies that “the proceeds from fees are used, in particular, to finance the security, operational efficiency and capacity and comfort of airports, with interventions being underway at various national airports” and that “the fee proposal for 2024 includes a mechanism to encourage aircraft with lower carbon emissions, in line with ANA/VINCI Airports’ environmental policy and the promotion of decarbonization in the aviation sector”.
ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal has revised the tariff proposal for 2024 at national airports, now proposing an average increase of 14.55% in global terms, including adjustments to fees not charged in previous years.