TAP criticises new airport fees

… without infrastructure investment

JM reports that the national carrier TAP today criticized the intention of ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal to increase airport fees, arguing that the initiative would be “disproportionate”, given the lack of investment in infrastructure.

In a statement, the carrier said that “it is very concerned about the announced intention to increase airport fees revealed by the concessionaire of the main Portuguese airports”.

TAP guaranteed that “this measure would be disproportionate, given the absence of significant investments in Portuguese airports in recent years and the recurring inefficiencies and constraints, which affect in particular the level of service provided to airlines and to all passengers using the airport. of Lisbon”.

According to the carrier, “the values ​​proposed by ANA Aeroportos to come into force on January 1, 2023 would represent increases per passenger of 35 cents in the Azores, 79 cents in Madeira, 80 cents in Faro, 81 cents in Porto and 1.53 cents per passenger. euros in Lisbon”.

“If these increases were to materialize, added to the strong increase in fuel prices, they would mean an increase in airline costs with an impact on travel prices for residents in Portugal, as well as reducing Portugal’s competitiveness as a tourist destination”, warned the company. TAP

According to the company, the increases “would also contribute to worsening the economic situation of TAP Air Portugal, the main customer of national airports, air passengers in general and Portuguese passengers in particular, especially those living in the autonomous regions”.

TAP considers that “even before these increases, the fees charged to passengers on domestic flights between Portuguese airports or with a stopover at the Lisbon hub are already significantly higher than those charged at the airports and hubs of the main European airlines” competitors. of the carrier, warning that “the airport fees charged to passengers travelling from Europe to Brazil, the United States or Africa are already significantly higher in Portugal than those charged to passengers who stop at the main European hubs”.

The company said that “it will be an active part in the consultation process launched by ANA Aeroportos and will inform ANAC [National Civil Aviation Authority] and other competent authorities of its determined opposition to these increases in airport fees in Portugal and the need to find an approach different in relation to airport fees that may function as a competitive factor for the Portuguese economy”.

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