The future of domestic flight travel discounts for residents in the Balearics is hanging in the balance.
The Spanish Airline Association (ALA) considers the €319 million allocated in the Air Navigation Law for subsidies for residents of the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla to be ‘completely insufficient’.
The main problem, according to the ALA, is that the government has refused to resolve the budget shortfall in the 2023 public accounts, which have since been extended. This situation has led to an accumulated deficit which, if not corrected, could cause the state’s debt to airlines to exceed €1 billion in 2025, according to the ALA. Javier Gándara, president of the association, has warned of the serious consequences this situation could have for air connectivity in these regions.
‘If the government does not adopt a solution as soon as possible, the problem will become even more unsustainable for airlines and could affect air connectivity, which would greatly harm residents and the economic development and employment of these regions,’ said Gándara. On Wednesday, Congress concluded its debate on the amendments that the Senate had registered to the Air Navigation Act, which is the last parliamentary step before the legislative text is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
One of the main measures in the text is an extraordinary credit of €319 million to compensate airlines for the 75% discount they offer on flights to residents of the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla. The opposition Partido Popular attempted to amend this figure in the Senate and raise it to €1.2 billion. However, Congress vetoed this proposal and the amount will remain at €319 million, which was set by the government for this subsidy and approved by the House of Representatives during the parliamentary process.
According to ALA, the airlines act as ‘mere intermediaries’ when it comes to the discount, acting as collaborating entities of the administration in accordance with the established regulations and automatically applying the discount percentage to residents and settling with the administration, in this case the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) once the passenger has made the trip.