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Aena commented (16-Jan-2025) on Ryanair's plans to reduce its operations in Spain due to Aena's charges, stating: "The average rate that airlines will pay Aena for airport services from [01-Mar-2025] will remain frozen at [EUR10.35] per passenger. This rate is one of the lowest in Europe. With this same average rate, Ryanair increased its activity in 2024 at Spanish airports by 8.7%, meaning the airline transported 66 million passengers". The operator added: "[Ryanair's] programming for the 2025 summer season at Spanish airports implies more seats available than in the same season of the previous summer. Therefore, as Ryanair's CEO himself clarified at the press conference this morning, its total programming in Spain will grow compared to 2024". Aena concluded: "In short, Aena regrets that Ryanair uses spurious arguments that do not correspond to the reality of airport fees in Spain". [more - original PR - Spanish]

Ryanair announced (16-Jan-2025) plans to implement further traffic reductions in Spain, removing 800,000 seats and 12 routes due to "excessive fees" and the "ineffectiveness" of incentive plans offered by Aena. The reductions amount to 18% of the carrier's operation in Spain during summer 2025 and include the cancellation of all operations at Jerez and Valladolid. The LCC also plans to remove one aircraft based in Santiago and reduce traffic at Vigo (-61%), Santiago (-28%), Zaragoza (-20%), Asturias (-11%) and Santander (-5%). Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson stated: "Following the Spanish Government's commitment to boost Spain's post-COVID recovery, Ryanair responded by increasing capacity to boost connectivity, tourism and employment. However, Aena persists with unjustified charge increases and refuses to implement effective incentive systems to support Spain's regional growth, prioritising foreign investment in airports in the Caribbean, the UK and America". [more - original PR - Spanish]

CAPA - Centre for Aviation, in a report entitled: 'Loganair joins IAG's Avios, returns to growth', highlighted (17-Jan-2025) Loganair announced on 09-Jan-2025 that it would join IAG's loyalty scheme in 2025. The agreement to adopt Avios as the currency for the ClanLoganair loyalty programme is expected to deepen the relationship with IAG, one of Europe's biggest airline groups. Operating mainly as domestic regional airline with a focus on Scotland, Loganair's international network is only one fifth of its seat capacity, and is limited to UK Crown Dependencies, two destinations in Ireland, two in Norway and one in Denmark. The carrier's entry into Avios, in addition to its British Airways codeshare, should provide Loganair's customers with further incentives and travel opportunities. Loganair is set to resume modest growth in 2025, after trimming capacity in 2024. [more - CAPA Analysis]

Finavia published (13-Jan-2025) its inaugural trend report and 2024 air traffic statistics, analysing changes in international and Finnish travel and air traffic trends. Highlights include:

• The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine have significantly reshaped air travel patterns;
• Leisure travel and interest in Finland as a tourist destination are growing, while business travel remains below pre-pandemic levels;
• Tourism driven routes, particularly to Lapland, are expanding due to strong demand;
• Finland's air traffic growth has been slower than the European average, impacted by the closure of Russian airspace;
• Finavia's airports recorded 19.6 million passengers, increased 7% year-on-year;
• Helsinki-Vantaa Airport handled 16.3 million passengers (+7%), but has lost its position as an intermediary for large passenger flows between Europe and Asia;
• Regional airports handled 3.3 million passengers (+10%), with European routes leading growth, particularly to and from Germany, Sweden, Spain and the UK;
• Lapland airports recorded 1.8 million passengers (+19%), with Rovaniemi Airport experiencing record growth (+29%);
• Passenger numbers have dropped by over 60% at smaller regional airports like Joensuu Airport, Jyvaskyla Airport and Kajaani Airport, due to declining business travel;
• Finavia stressed the need for market based air traffic to sustain growth, support infrastructure investments and enhance customer experience;
• The report underscores the role of seamless multimodal transport chains (air, train and bus) in ensuring sustainable and efficient connectivity.

Finavia CEO Kimmo Mäki commented: "Tourists maintain and increase routes to Finland and Finland's connectivity. Geographically, tourism in Finland is strongly affected by the polarisation of destinations: the growth of tourism in Lapland during the winter season is an international success story. On the other hand, tourism has the greatest potential to grow in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. All in all, an investment in tourism is an investment in Finland's growth and internationalisation". [more - original PR]

Perth Airport reported (17-Jan-2025) it handled 16.9 million passengers in 2024, an increase of 10.5% year-on-year and a new annual record. The airport reported more than half of the growth came from "additional international passengers", with international traffic growing 23%. CEO Jason Waters added: "We believe there is great potential for further growth in passenger numbers as we move towards a potential 20 million passengers a year by 2030". [more - original PR]

Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte stated (16-Jan-2025) "With its large number of flight connections, Frankfurt Airport provides a positive and important locational advantage for the German economy". Dr Schulte said: "However, due to the sharp rise in government-induced location costs, presently reaching extremely high levels, we are increasingly at risk of losing this advantage of excellent hub connectivity for our country's economy". He added: "Airlines are investing in locations with lower government-imposed fees, and we are feeling this effect here in Frankfurt". Dr Schulte noted: "Our Group airports outside Germany are faring much better, with most of them growing faster than Frankfurt and many of them even setting new passenger records". [more - original PR]