Aena says that the Balearic airport co-management law is "unconstitutional" and threatens to act if it is approved

PalmaAena considers the Balearic Islands airport co-management bill to be unconstitutional and has warned that it will take "the necessary decisions" to defend its interests if the text is finally approved in the Congress of Deputies.

The company's position comes hours after the Spanish government lifted the veto it had initially imposed on the processing of the initiative promoted by the Parliament of the Balearic Islands. The text will thus be able to reach the Congress soon, where it will have to be debated.

In a communication sent this Tuesday to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), Aena asserts that the proposal contains "provisions clearly incompatible with the current legal framework," especially with the constitutional framework.

The company maintains that the regulatory, supervisory, and oversight powers for airports of general interest correspond "solely" to the State. It acknowledges that autonomous communities have significant powers in matters of airports and air transport, but rejects that this allows them to assume the management of the airports.

Aena rejects the co-management model

The company maintains that the autonomous regions can participate in decision-making related to airports, but always within the current regulatory framework. In this sense, it considers that the creation of a coordination committee, provided for in the bill approved by the Balearic Parliament at the end of April, does not fit into current legislation.

Aena also defends the current model of joint management of the state airport network, based on what it defines as the "principle of economic solidarity." According to this system, airports with more activity contribute to financing the losses of those with a lower volume of traffic.

For this reason, the company considers that any change in the management model could affect the functioning of the entire network.

Aena has conveyed to the CNMV its "full confidence" that the Cortes Generales will ensure that the bill conforms to the constitutional framework. But it has also made it clear that, if this is not the case, it is prepared to act.

"If necessary," the company will adopt "the necessary decisions in defense of the application of current legality, the corporate interest, and the rights of the company and all its shareholders," it warned.

The Spanish government lifts the veto

Aena's reaction comes on the same day that the Spanish government has decided to lift the veto on the processing of the Balearic Islands' airport co-management law. The decision opens the door for the initiative to be debated in Congress over the coming weeks.

The state executive had initially rejected the processing because it considered that the law could reduce Aena's income and would force it to compensate for this loss with funding from the Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility.

The Spanish government also argued that the approval of the regulation could have a "direct effect" on fares and air traffic, with a "very significant" economic impact on the company's results and, consequently, on dividends.

Now, with the lifting of the veto, the proposal will have to face parliamentary debate while Aena has already made clear its frontal opposition to the co-management model proposed by the Balearic Islands.