AENA releases 2014 Strategic Plan calling for reduction in airport operating hours

Spain's AENA president Jose Manuel Vargas presented (21-Jun-2012) the company's 2014 Strategic Plan at the 22nd ACI Europe Congress in Madrid. Under the Strategic Plan, AENA will increase the retail area of seven of its busiest airports (Alicante, Barcelona El Prat, Gran Canaria, Madrid Barajas, Malaga, Costa del Sol, Palma de Mallorca and Tenerife) by 22% with 25,000sqm of space to be added by 2014. AENA will also reduce the operating hours of certain airports to match actual demand. Mr Vargas explained this will require staff have greater versatility and flexibility while the investment by AENA airports in the last 10 years has enabled the airport operator to have a net competitive advantage in capacity over other airports in their environment. Vargas also stated aeronautical fees will increase by 10% in 2H2012. Vargas noted these fees had been about 40-50% lower than in the main European airports for the past decade and were unsustainable. [more - original PR]