Aena, the organisation responsible for managing the national airport network, is preparing a significant investment in the Canarian airports to alleviate the congestion that some facilities are currently experiencing, leading to overcrowding. The refurbishment and enhancement works will encompass all eight airports but will primarily concentrate on the three with the most pressing issues: the two in Tenerife and Lanzarote. The overall planned expenditure, which is always subject to potential changes during project execution, will, in any case, exceed 600 million euros.
The meeting will be held with the president and CEO of Aena, Maurici Lucena, who intends to convey firsthand the airport management strategy for the Islands to the head of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, in a forthcoming meeting. This discussion between the highest representative of the semi-public entity – with up to 49% of Aena’s share capital in private ownership while the remaining 51% is held by the state company Enaire – and the regional leader follows the confirmation that the regional network of airports shattered its passenger record in 2024. With over 52 million travellers recorded during the last financial year, it marks the first instance of the eight airports in the Archipelago surpassing the 50 million threshold in a single year. This is a positive development, reflecting the renewed growth of the tourism sector – which accounts for nearly 40% of the Gross Domestic Product of the Canary Islands – yet, along with the increasing inter-island traffic, it has placed unprecedented stress on the capacity of the aerodromes.
The Los Rodeos aerodrome has exceeded its operational capacity and Lanzarote is nearing that limit
The most significant difficulties are being encountered at the airports in Lanzarote, which concluded 2024 with 8.7 million passengers, reaching 97% of its theoretical maximum capacity, which Aena estimates to be nine million travellers annually; Tenerife South, where the challenges are less about capacity and more related to spatial deficiencies in check-in and baggage areas; and Tenerife North, which last year approached 6.8 million travellers and became the first aerodrome in the Autonomous Community to exceed its maximum capacity, which is established in the Airport Regulation Document – the DORA, approved by the Council of Ministers, outlining the conditions for service provision at the Aena network aerodromes – set at 6.5 million passengers annually.
As a result, the managing agency intends to direct a substantial portion of its investment towards these three airports – the two in Tenerife and the one in Lanzarote – although there will also be allocations for the enhancement, modernisation, and upgrading of the other five aerodromes. It is notable that the Gran Canaria airport, as the largest and busiest in the Archipelago, is still well above its capacity limit – with a theoretical maximum of 20 million passengers per year and 15.2 million counted in 2024 – and the margin is even larger for Fuerteventura, which has an annual ceiling of 12 million passengers and recorded 6.4 million last year, just over half its capacity. Thus, the focus is firmly on the three most pressured infrastructures within the regional network.
The investment planned for Tenerife South alone exceeds the total investment designated for all the Islands during the 2022-2026 five-year period
Currently, the new functional design initiatives for the three airports – Tenerife South, North, and Lanzarote – are being drafted at a cost of 8.5 million euros. The intention is for the necessary works to be included in the forthcoming DORA, which will govern the 2027-2031 five-year period. The document will include provisions for all eight airports, aiming to “ensure, as has been achieved up to now, that infrastructures are adequately sized for future demand,” Aena states. However, it should be noted that the largest portions of the funding will primarily be allocated to Tenerife South, Tenerife North, and Lanzarote.
The initial investment for the southern Tenerife aerodrome is estimated to be over 300 million euros, which is a significant figure that already surpasses, by a considerable margin, the projected expenditure for the current DORA for the five-year period 2022-2026 – set at 171.13 million euros – for all eight airports within the Autonomous Community. Among various developments, a new parking structure will be built, access will be enhanced, and the check-in and boarding areas will be expanded.
As for Lanzarote and Tenerife North, the initial estimates are set at 140 and 190 million euros. In both scenarios, considering their operational limits, the primary objective is to increase capacity. For Lanzarote, the two terminals will be connected through the boarding area, creating additional space for check-in, boarding, and passport control. In the case of Tenerife North, the passenger terminal will be expanded, aiming to improve the number of check-in counters and security verification lines.
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