Spain's government on Wednesday formally launched the privatisation of air traffic control in 13 airports, just weeks after clamping down on a wildcat strike by controllers. The privatisation of traffic control for the "first 13 airports" was announced in the government bulletin, giving airport operator AENA one month to launch a tender, which will last about seven months.
"This is the largest structural reform in recent years of the airport sector," the Transport Ministry said in a statement. "The passenger will be the beneficiary of this reform because it will improve service quality." The 13 airports are sprinkled across the country, including Valencia in the east, Seville in the south, the Canary Islands' La Palma, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote and the Mediterranean island of Ibiza. Others are in Alicante, Sabadell, Jerez, La Coruna, Vigo, Cuatro Vientos and Spain's north African enclave of Melilla. More privatisations are to follow. The government plans to sell air traffic control services in a total of 47 airports. A walkout by air traffic controllers on December 3 shut down Spain's airspace at the start of a holiday weekend, disrupting travel for an estimated 300,000 passengers.
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