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Passengers flying from Spanish airports will only see a tiny increase in fees over the coming years, after the government scaled back a much steeper rise originally put forward by airport operator Aena.

 

The Council of Ministers has approved DORA III, the regulatory framework covering nearly €13billion worth of investment across Spain's airports between 2027 and 2031. But the headline for holidaymakers and residents alike is the fee itself: instead of the 43% passenger annual increase Aena had proposed, the government has capped it at just 3 cents.

 

According to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, that effectively freezes the average airport charge. Aena's original plan would have pushed the average annual passenger charge from €10.52 in 2026 up to €12.69 by 2031. The revised figure cuts around 40 cents a year off that increase.

 

Transport Minister Óscar Puente presented the approved plan at Tuesday's cabinet meeting, defending the need to prepare Spain's airport network for demand that's expected to top 358 million passengers a year by 2031.

 

Mr Puente pointed out that Spain has been breaking its own airport traffic record year after year, with 309 million passengers in 2024, 321 million in 2025, and more than 190 million in the first seven months of 2026 alone, a rise of 4% on the previous year. August 2026 was the busiest month in Spanish aviation history, with 34.9 million passengers passing through Aena's airports.

 

The €10billion or so in regulated investment planned for the next five years is more than four times what was spent under the two previous DORA plans combined, and works out at roughly €2billion a year. Terminal buildings will get €2.85billion, airfields €937million and security measures more than €1.65billion, alongside spending on baggage handling and sustainability.

 

Regionally, Madrid-Barajas takes the largest share at €4.48billion, followed by Catalonia's airports with €1.96billion. The Valencian Community will see over €1.27billion invested, including €868millio for Alicante-Elche Airport and €400million for Valencia Airport. The Balearic Islands will get more than €1billion spread across Palma, Ibiza, Menorca and Son Bonet, while Málaga-Costa del Sol will receive over €830million.

 

The rethink came after strong opposition from airlines, amid a wider and increasingly public dispute over Aena's airport charges. The airline trade body ALA argued that Aena had underestimated future passenger numbers and overestimated its costs, while the competition watchdog CNMC recommended cutting charges by 0.59% a year rather than increasing them.

 

Ryanair, which had already loudly challenged Aena's 2026 tariff plans, welcomed the CNMC's recommendation and has repeatedly criticised the airport operator's charges.

 

 

Image: Visit Madrid