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Airfield air traffic awarded to César Manrique-Lanzarote for
€ 22,771,000 Aena has awarded the contract to Saerco for a period of seven years with the possibility of three annual extensions
At its last meeting, held on June 30, the Aena Board of Directors approved the award of aerodrome air traffic services for 12 airports in the network, grouped into lots, for a total amount of 101,894,000 euros .
This is the renewal of the aerodrome air traffic service (ATS) or tower control at 12 airports that have liberalized this service: A Coruña, Alicante-Elche, Cuatro Vientos, Fuerteventura, Ibiza, Jerez, La Palma, César Manrique- Lanzarote, Sabadell, Seville, Valencia and Vigo, whose current contracts end between November 2020 and January 2022.
The service at the Alicante-Elche, Valencia, Ibiza and Sabadell airports, included in lot 1, has been awarded to the company FerroNATS, SA, for an amount of 43,623,000 euros.
For its part Servicios Aeronáuticos Control y Navegación, SL (Saerco) has been awarded the service for the airports of Vigo, Jerez, Seville, A Coruña and Cuatro Vientos, grouped in lot 2, for 35,500,000 euros and for La Palma , Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, grouped in lot 3, for 22,771,000 euros.
The contract award period is seven years, renewable annually for three more, upon agreement by the parties.
The aerodrome air traffic service or tower control orders the traffic of aircraft at airports and authorizes take-offs and landings. This service, which is carried out from the airport control tower, deals with the final phase of descent and the initial take-off of aircraft and, in some cases, ground movements at the airport itself.
To provide this service, companies must be certified as air traffic service providers by the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) or another supervisor from member countries of the European Union and, therefore, comply with the requirements set forth in the royal decree that regulates the certification procedure for navigation service providers, approved this year (Royal Decree 515/2020 of May 12).
Service liberalization
The liberalization of the tower control service is part of the restructuring that Aena has carried out in the air navigation area with the aim of maintaining the quality of the service by improving its efficiency, according to the Ministerial Order approved by the Ministry of Development in December 2010 This ministerial order designated the airports in which the tower control service is liberalized.
The objective of this process was to introduce competition in this sector, which has produced an improvement in the efficiency, both technical and economic, in which these services are provided, in accordance with the objectives of the European Commission, as well as guaranteeing sustainability. of the ATS service. The entry of public and private providers of tower control services contributed to increasing the competitiveness of Spanish air transport.
This process has been a benchmark for international success. Proof of this is that, in 2016, Spain received the Single Sky Award from the European Commission (Single European Sky Award 2016).
The liberalization has led to the opening of the aerodrome ATS service to the market, introducing competition in the sector, improving airport management capacity and quality of service.
