Spanish airport operator Aena will be allowed to increase the fees it charges airlines by 4.09% to compensate for inflation and rising energy prices, the Spanish Council of Ministers decided Tuesday, in a move criticized by low-cost airlines such as Ryanair.

The Spanish government said its decision was in line with measures taken by most other European airports, which have increased airport charges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and high inflation. Aena is 51% owned by the Spanish State.

Its chairman, Maurici Lucena, recently stated that, despite the increase, Spanish airports would charge less per passenger than before the pandemic and less than their main European competitors.

In London, Heathrow has approved a 4.5% increase in charges by 2023, while Amsterdam's Schiphol airport has raised them by 12% in 2023 and plans to raise them again this year, the Spanish government reported. Frankfurt airport plans a 9.5% increase this year.

Ryanair, the leading passenger airline in Spain, had called for a reversal of the fare hike.

Ryanair said earlier this month that it had decided to open five new bases in Spain, aiming to grow 40% in the country by 2030, but that was based on its belief that fees would not rise until 2026.

In 2021, Spain approved a freeze on airline fees to gain competitiveness and help the air transport sector recover.

Aena will offer fare reductions of between 15% and 70% at airports in the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, depending on the flights, to alleviate the effect of the rise.

(Report by Corina Pons,; edited in Spanish by José Muñoz)