Ryanair has said irreparable damage is being caused to destinations like Madeira due to high Portuguese airport charges. In a statement, the airline said its base in Madeira could be at risk of closure, blaming increases in fees charged by the country’s aviation operator. The low-cost Irish carrier, Europe’s largest by passenger number, has already closed its base in the Azores for cost reasons and said Madeira could be next.
Ryanair lashed out at price hikes to what it called “already high airport charges” applied by ANA, Portugal’s airport authority, across the country’s aviation hubs. Since ANA faces no competition in Portugal, the airline has dubbed it a “monopoly airport concessionaire” and is seeking to involve ANAC (the National Civil Aviation Authority), a body that can take steps to protect consumers from monopoly issues.
Are the charges high?
Aviation 24 notes it is true that “ANA has consistently increased charges, with Lisbon Airport’s passenger charge alone set to rise by 50% since 2019.”
Airport charges targetted
— MadeiraDirect (@madeiradirect) February 10, 2023
… as most expensive in Portugal
JM headlines this morning that ten years after being included in the Portuguese airport authority ANA, airport charges at Madeira airports continue to be the least competitive among those included in the mana… pic.twitter.com/21jE9TzFOR
Making matters worse, in Ryanair’s view, is the prospect of the impending EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) fees, due to be applied to short-haul flights like those to Portugal’s outlying regions like Madeira and the Azores, from 2024. If these translate into price increases for visitors, the airline suggests tourists might prefer to travel to non-EU resorts where the charges do not apply.
Connectivity, tourism and jobs
The increase in ANA charges would therefore damage travel networks, the leisure and hospitality industries and employment, particularly affecting island destinations, the airline said.
“ANA, operated by French airport concession company VINCI, is seeking excessive and unjustified charge increases throughout Portugal, including Lisbon (+18%), Porto (+13%), Faro (+12%), the Azores (+8%) and Madeira (+9%), which will have a hugely detrimental impact on Portugal’s connectivity, tourism and jobs, especially for island economies,” reads a Ryanair statement.
Irreparable damage
The Portuguese authority’s approach compares unfavourably with other national airport operators’, Ryanair’s CEO, Eddie Wilson said: “ANA should be following its European counterparts and lowering charges to help stimulate traffic and tourism. Instead, ANA is irreparably damaging Portugal’s competitiveness with this excessive and unjustified 18% increase in charges, which will do nothing but drive-away much-needed inbound tourism.”
Posing as a defender of “what Portuguese airports need”, Ryanair said ANA’s charging strategy was the “exact opposite” adding, “particularly in Madeira and the Azores, where they depend on low airport charges to drive vital connectivity and tourism.”
