The company asked for the "restrictions" to be removed so they could operate

The Government of the Canary Islands responds to Ryanair: "Canarian inter-island air transport is open to any operator"

The Ministry of Transport of the Government of the Canary Islands has responded to the statements made by the company Ryanair, which on Wednesday expressed its willingness to start operating flights between the islands, thus covering the ...

October 18 2012 (22:05 WEST)
The Government of the Canary Islands responds to Ryanair: Canary Islands inter-island air transport is open to any operator
The Government of the Canary Islands responds to Ryanair: Canary Islands inter-island air transport is open to any operator

The Ministry of Transport of the Government of the Canary Islands has responded to the statements made by the company Ryanair, which on Wednesday expressed its willingness to start operating flights between the islands, thus covering the gap left by Islas Airways. But for this, it demanded that the Canary Islands Executive eliminate the "current restrictions", alleging that they "are detrimental to users on the island routes" and "have been an obstacle for Ryanair when considering this possibility and applying its low fare policy on island flights".

After this glove thrown by Ryanair, the Government has come out to ensure that "any air operator can be implemented, in terms of free competition, on inter-island routes whose Public Service Obligation has not been put out to public tender". In this sense, it recalls that "at the moment, the implementation of airlines on inter-island routes is regulated by the same rules as the rest of the traffic, with the exception of the conditions set in the Public Service Obligations (PSO), which guarantee that Canarians have sufficient air mobility in terms of capacity, frequencies and prices, but not a restriction on the entry of any operator".

Of the thirteen routes that have been declared a Public Service, it has only been necessary to activate the PSOs on four, given the lack of interest of the airlines in operating on them. These are the three that connect the capital islands with La Gomera and El Hierro and the one that connects Gran Canaria with Tenerife South, "which have been put out to public tender by the Ministry of Development and will be operated shortly".

In addition, in a statement, the Government of the Canary Islands recalls that airport taxes are 70 percent subsidized for inter-island flights and assures that it is "in favor of promoting free competition in the islands, within a framework that guarantees at least minimum standards of quality and affordable prices for Canarians". It also adds that "the Government actively participates in the joint commissions created to analyze air transport, in order to obtain the best connectivity conditions for the Islands", but recalls that the powers in this matter "are still exclusive to the State, so it is the central Government that has the power to make modifications in this regard".

The Government of the Canary Islands also wants to clarify that the Public Service Obligations, what they do is set a minimum of seats and frequencies and a maximum price on the established routes, which are not put out to public tender while the operators present in the market exceed in offer the seats and frequencies indicated, within the established prices. These PSOs are regulated by a resolution published by the Ministry of the Presidency. Specifically, the Resolution of July 21, 2006, of the Undersecretariat, which provides for the publication of the Agreement of the Council of Ministers of June 2, 2006, which declares public service obligations on air routes between the Canary Islands.

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