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Airport Tax Waiver Continues Into 2012

Thursday June 30, 2011

Airport Tax Waiver Continues Into 2012

Airport taxes in the Canary Islands will continue to be waived into 2012 to assist in the recovery of the tourist sector. As Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the President of the Spanish Government, assured colleagues at the Executive Congress of Deputies that the duties normally paid by airlines to land at Spanish airports, will continue to be suspended in the Canary archipelago next year.

The taxes have not been applied to flights landing in the islands since the beginning of 2010, as part of an agreement reached with several low cost carriers to extend their routes across the seven islands. In particular, the budget airline Ryanair only agreed to expand its services in 2010 as long as AENA, the Spanish Airport Authority, maintained the waiver on airport taxes.

This measure has met with a degree of success in boosting passenger numbers to the major airports in the Canary Islands over the last two years. For example, the National Deputy for the PSOE party on Lanzarote, Miguel Gonzalez, believes that the number of arrivals at Arrecife airport has increased by 15% since the introduction of the waiver. A view supported by AENA's passenger number statistics for this period. Whilst Ryanair has greatly increased their commitment to the Canaries with the expansion of services and the creation of new hubs and bases in the islands.

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