Through a proposal from Más, the Parliament of the Balearic Islands wants to limit Aena's use of the Balearic airports, which are currently treated as if they were its own private backyard. From the monopoly they exercise, in favor of their shareholders, they multiply visitor arrivals and installed capacities, which provide them with income from both the slots They charge for the equipment they rent. At excessive costs, these rentals are then transferred, within the facilities, to prohibitively expensive merchandise. Water, for example, cannot be brought in through airport security filters, and a return trip within the facilities often costs four euros—or more—for a small bottle of water; such is the fixed cost passed on for facilities that are Aena's big business. The same applies to aircraft entry and exit. By not paying the full environmental cost of their carbon footprint, companies can afford to pay what they are asked for the use of runways, making alternative territorial facilities less attractive, as they would decentralize demand and become competitive. This way of understanding the public interest as achieving returns for shareholders sits poorly today with the aspirations of citizens. The State should therefore not behave like just another shareholder, nor collect cash like everyone else. It's up to them to be sensitive to the demands of places like Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, which have had their say. And, in the absence of that sensitivity on the part of Aena's current management, perhaps there's no choice but to accept the governments' demands for full management or co-management of their airports, and not leave the desire to achieve more reasonable levels of tourism than the current ones in the hands of shareholders.
We'd like to conclude with an idea from the economist. Mas-Colell in that same newspaper. Aena is a company sui generis, since the State has granted it management of the entire Spanish airport system. It is, therefore, a monopoly by legal provision. Aena can manage major airports around the world, but companies around the world cannot do the same in Spain. Furthermore, the State has retained 51% of the shares. Economics textbooks explain that monopolies, and even more so legal monopolies, must be regulated. The natural inclination of a listed company is to maximize profit and stock market value. Without competition and regulation, this will surely generate situations of abuse towards citizens. On the key issue of airport management, there is no other way but to exert influence over Aena.
The fact is that the Balearic Government, in particular, seems determined to confront the issues that require sustainable tourism. The narrative seems sound, although it still only reveals politically profitable gestures, which are misleading insofar as they procrastinate the current situation: hoteliers resisting the hotel tax increase and many vacation rentals competing unfairly with the previous ones. The danger, once again, is that nothing will end up being touched by avoiding confronting their respective interests at the expense of a deterioration in supply for both sides.
