Intermoney | The Justice ministry has ordered the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAV) to re-examine the claim that Aena (Maintain, PO €170) presented at the time on account of the costs caused by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, according to Cinco Días.
In December 2021, the DGAV denied any compensation to the operator, although now the Supreme Court has ruled that the administration should hear its arguments again, without going into whether they are justified or not. Aena has not reached a valuation of its claims, although it proposes that the amounts it believes it deserves to receive should be allocated to the DORA 3 regulatory period, which would begin in 2027. The airlines have always opposed Aena receiving any compensation for the pandemic.
Assessment: The regulation makes it clear that there is no compensation for a decrease in passenger traffic, unless it is an exceptional and unexpected event that causes “annual reductions in passenger traffic in the network as a whole of more than 10% caused by natural disasters, terrorist acts or war situations”, and that endangers the viability of the company, in this case Aena. We find it difficult to apply this concept, as the truth is that the operator has clearly demonstrated its viability, recording its highest EBITDA in its history in 2023, exceeding €3,000 million, thanks to a very robust expansion of non-regulated commercial activity; even the aeronautical business, which is regulated, generated an EBITDA of €1,375 million last year, 86% of that recorded in 2019, despite the cost increases.
