2014 Aeronautical Engineering Conference

183 million passengers passed through AENA airports between January and November

2014.12.5

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The Minister for Public Works stressed that this increase is especially significant because not only has international traffic increased but so has the number of domestic passengers. In terms of the airports data, Ana Pastor explained that the total number of passengers passing through Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport in November rose by 9.3% on the same month last year.

Spanish leadership in infrastructures

At the closing ceremony of the 2014 Aeronautical Engineering Conference, the Spanish minister said that, while air transportation is a strategic sector for any country, it is even more so for Spain due to both social and economic factors stemming from the peninsular and island nature of the country; its contribution in terms of regional connectivity, accessibility and territorial structure; geographic location; Spain's role as an inter-continental gateway; and its position as the leading holiday destination in the world.

"Our leadership would be inconceivable without the infrastructure network that we have: roads, railways, sea ports and, above all, airports".
In this regard, Ana Pastor stressed that, again, the World Economic Forum has included Spain on the global ranking of the top ten countries in terms of infrastructure.

Efforts by the Ministry of Public Works to improve the sector

In her speech, the Minister for Public Works said that her department is implementing a comprehensive policy of planned actions aimed at regulating, overseeing and stimulating the sector. This policy is based on eight lines of action, as defined by the Aviation Sector Development Plan 2014-2017.

These lines of action are related to improving safety; improving the quality of service and the protection of passenger rights; enhancing competitiveness in the sector and helping to strengthen economic development; improving the efficiency of the airport system and air navigation, as well as streamlining investment; balancing growth in the sector with environmental sustainability criteria; enhancing the aviation sector as a tool for strengthening the internal structure of Spain; boosting innovation and Spain's international leadership in the field of aeronautics; and reorganising and modernising the public aviation sector in terms of administration and the companies managed under the Ministry of Public Works.

The Spanish minister also mentioned the State Operational Safety Programme (Spanish acronym: PESO), a programme that will enable operational safety in Spain to be managed comprehensively and preventively in collaboration with all stakeholders in the sector. This programme will be presented to the Lower House of Parliament in the near future for subsequent approval by the Council of Ministers.

Ana Pastor went on to say that AENA, the leading airport manager in the world in terms of passenger numbers, has undergone a far-reaching process of transformation in recent years to adapt itself to an efficiency-based model, streamline investment and make the best use of its infrastructures. Thanks to these efforts, the company has entered the black for the first time and posted a net profit (in 2013) of 597 million euros.

Finally, she recalled that airports, air navigation and aviation safety will receive an investment of 535 million euros in 2015, that airport fees will be frozen and the tax credit schemes launched during this legislature will be maintained next year, with an increased reduction for connecting passengers.