The Government will settle 720 million of the debt it maintains with airlines in the coming weeks for subsidies on flights between the peninsula and the two archipelagos, as well as with Ceuta and Melilla, although the companies say it still owes between 300 and 500 million euros.
According to sources at the Ministry of Transport, the debt is mainly with the airlines that cover these routes and inter-island journeys (Iberia, Air Europa, Vueling, Ryanair and Binter), but also with the shipping companies that operate these connections (Balearia and Armas).
In the coming days, 319 million still pending from 2024 will be paid to the airlines, which were included as an extraordinary credit included in the air navigation law recently approved in Congress.
In addition, in a few weeks they will receive another 400 million, of which 50 million will go to shipping companies and 350 million to airlines, which, according to Transport, is half of what is pending for this entire year.
The Airline Association (ALA) disagrees with these figures
The Airline Association (ALA) disagrees with these figures: It assures that as of last August, 700 million euros had accrued, and that by the end of the year, this will rise to 1,000-1,200 million euros.
At the time of ticket purchase, the companies cover 75% of the price, which has been subsidized by that amount since 2018, but then the State settles that difference with them through the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Air transport subsidies in non-mainland territories have been increasing over time: between the 1980s and 1998, they accounted for between 10% and 33% of the fare.
Between 1998 and 2007, it increased from 33% to 50% in all cases; in July 2017, it increased to 75% only for inter-island journeys, and in July 2018, journeys to the rest of the national territory were incorporated at 75%.
The evolution of this item depends on how fares evolve, on the one hand, and air traffic, on the other.
The subsidy for island transport and with Ceuta and Melilla totaled 462.6 million euros in 2018; a figure that rose to 674 million in 2019, the first year of full implementation of the 75% aid, according to figures from the Ministry of Transport.
Despite the impact of the pandemic on travel -airports were closed for months-, in 2020 the subsidy for tickets totaled almost 604 million; a figure that dropped in 2021 -still greatly impacted by Covid- to 478.5 million.
In 2022, activity recovered, and with it, the links with the non-peninsular territories and aid totaled more than 737 million euros; and in 2023 - already with activity at full speed - it rose to 845 million.
For 2024, according to figures from the Ministry of Transport, the fees generated reached 1,036 million euros, of which 319 million remain to be paid, which will be paid shortly.
The amount generated in 2025 is almost 592 million euros, according to data from Transport, although ALA raises it to 700 million.
The airline association, which brings together 70 companies and 85% of air traffic in Spain, says that delays in collecting aid could affect connections between the peninsula, the islands, and Ceuta and Melilla
