The president of the Popular Party of Lanzarote, Astrid Pérez, pointed out this Friday that the Government of Spain, presided over by Pedro Sánchez, has not paid all of the outstanding payments to the airlines for the discount for Canarian, Balearic, and Ceuta and Melilla residents because "the PSOE does not govern in non-peninsular Spain."
With data from last April, the Ministry of Transport had paid 319 million euros to the airlines corresponding to the year 2024. Meanwhile, another 300 million euros from last year remain outstanding. According to Transport figures, another 1,250 million will accrue in 2025.
The president of the Association of Airline Companies (ALA), Javier Gándara, warned last March about the possibility that some companies reduce routes and/or frequencies if the Government "continues to delay payments for compensation for residents in the non-peninsular territory."
Thus, Astrid Pérez has assured that the Government refuses in a "permanent" way to pay the residence discount. For Pérez, this is "a new episode of political sectarianism, in this case against the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, because we all know that if the discount were applied in Catalonia, the money would come from wherever it was needed to satisfy the voracity of Sánchez's political partners.”
Thus, the leader of the Popular Party in Lanzarote has assured that “Sánchez has been owing the airlines nearly 1.2 billion euros for more than a year for this concept, so in the medium term it is unsustainable to maintain the discount or maintain the current connectivity.”
Astrid Pérez recalls that the central government has vetoed an amendment from the Popular Party in the Congress Board so that this amount is paid to the airlines as soon as possible, knowing that the companies are considering eliminating routes and lines with the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla if the Government persists in its refusal to pay and comply with what the legislation establishes.
In this sense, the popular president has asked the Canarian PSOE, in the Canary Islands and in Madrid, “to take action on the matter and join forces to defend a discount that favors the connectivity of all Spaniards who do not live in the Peninsula.”
“This is not a question of political colors or ideology. It is a question of justice that we cannot renounce,” she said.
Finally, she highlighted that "let's not lose sight of the fact that the 75% bonus on air and sea transport fares is a determining factor of progress both for citizens and for companies and the economic activity of the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, Melilla; therefore, of Spain.”
