SAN SEBASTIÁN DE LA GOMERA, January 19. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Cabildo of La Gomera, Casimiro Curbelo, requested this Friday that the central government paralyze the increase in airport taxes in the Canary Islands infrastructure planned by Aena.
“It is not a good time to apply a general increase in airport taxes by a percentage of 4.09%, so the State must reconsider this decision and allow the Canary Islands airports to be exempt from this measure, and even more so if we take into account “The island’s airfields broke the passenger record in 2023 with 48.8 million people,” he noted.
In Curbelo’s opinion, the entity “must be consistent with the economic and social reality of the Canary Islands and the archipelagic condition, in addition to the fact that it is a region far from the continent, which is why air travel is essential in our communication system and “We don’t have other alternatives, as happens in the rest of the country.”
He insisted that, in addition, the Economic and Fiscal Regime specifies that “the Canary Islands must have bonus measures in terms of connectivity, such as the bonus for Canarian residents, aimed at unifying the territory and promoting equal opportunities.” .
In his opinion, “this increase will have a notable impact on the economy of the islands, its commercial fabric, its residents and tourism, since it will mean that airlines will have to increase the rates they apply, so the citizens will be the ones who suffer directly.”
For this reason, he insisted that they are “totally opposed” to this increase and in fact pointed out that “rates must remain stable or even with a downward trend.”
Curbelo expressed the importance of taking into account the opinion of the Canarian administrations in this type of decisions, which is why he proposed a “calm reflection” on this approach so that, from Aena and the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, “the respond to the request made by the Canary Islands,” states a note from the Cabildo.
He also added that “it is not a capricious attitude, but rather a
“ensure equal opportunities, territorial cohesion and the strengthening of the economic fabric of the islands”.
