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Spain will increase airport fees in March 2026, which is expected to raise ticket prices. Credit: RossHelen via Canva.com
The airport is the latest to be affected. First it was baggage, then it was seat choice, and now it’s even the airport itself. From March 1 2026, Spain’s airport operator Aena will raise passenger charges by 6.5% — its most significant hike in over a decade. Yes, your ticket is likely to be more costly. The €0.68 increase might not sound like much, but across the 320 million expected passengers, it adds up quickly. The airlines are already reacting, with Ryanair cutting hundreds of thousands of seats in Spain this summer, accusing it of unjustified price hikes
After a complete freeze on airport charges in 2025 this marks a change in how Spain finances its air infrastructure. Starting with megaprojects in Madrid-Barajas, and El Prat as well as rising staff and energy costs. What is changing, how did it start in 2024 and why was 2025 the final year before it stopped?
Flight surcharges are now included in the fee freeze
By 2024, AENA (the state-owned airport operator) will be a fully operational airport. 4.09% The increase in passenger charges was to cover the costs of energy incurred by Ukraine during its war.. It was the first increase in price for 10 years, and it signaled the end of the price-freeze era.
- They proposed a small increase in 2025 of 0.54%.
- Spain’s Competition Authority, the CNMC said no.
- That decision kept charges capped at €10.35 for the entire 2025 calendar year, giving travellers one more year of status quo.
Things are moving quickly now, with a proposal to increase the airport fee by 6.5% starting March 1, 2026. If this passes, the maximum airport fee would jump from €10.03 to €11.03 per passenger, a 60-cent increase. This is the largest increase since 2015. It is also suitable to reset ticket prices throughout the port.
The numbers also increased, with 320 million passengers forecasted in 2025, which could generate €218 million in additional revenue. Aena says that this money will go towards upgrades and long-term plans for infrastructure.
Ryanair’s Spanish routes are halted after backlash from passengers
Ryanair, shortly after Aena announced its intention to increase passenger fees by 6.5% from March 2006 onwards, announced that it would cut 800,000 seats for the Spanish operators during the summer of 2025. Some bases will be completely shut down.
- Ryanair called these increases “unjustified”, warning that Aena put tourism and connectivity in danger.
- Aena claims that, even with this plan, airport charges are still much cheaper than any other European hub. They’re still cheaper than major European Hubs such as Heathrow and Frankfurt.
- Aena highlights that airlines can pay as much as 60% less in airports of premium tier than they would elsewhere.
- Aena believes that the complaints are excessive, but the fees remain reasonable.
This year’s 800,000-seat cut is more than a corporate tantrum — it’s a warning shot. With further negotiations to come under the DORA III Framework, the biggest players in the industry are drawing their lines early. It remains to be determined whether others will follow Ryanair, but the tone of negotiations has changed. The silent fee increases are over.
The beginning of something big
It’s not a big change at all, and most travelers won’t even notice it on their receipt. The airport fees in Spain have been frozen over a decade. Come on! They are not off limits anymore.
Airline companies are responding to the situation in real time. However, passengers will not be affected until March 2026.
Responses have already started with fewer routes and schedules and a rift in the relationship between airports and carriers. What happens next will depend on how the fees are managed, how the upgrades have been implemented, and if regulators stay firm or cave in to pressure.
Until then, Spain’s 2025 travel season may be remembered as the last one before everything started costing just a little more — and before that cost started meaning something bigger.
