The Diplomat
Aena has been awarded the concession of eleven airports in Brazil for a thirty-year term, which makes it the manager of the largest network of concessioned airports in the South American country and represents the largest international development operation in the history of the Spanish public airport company.
On March 29, Aena Desarrollo Internacional, a subsidiary of Aena, signed the concession contract for the eleven airports, located in four states (São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais and Pará), for a term of 30 years, with the possibility of an additional five years. Aena was awarded their management at public auction in August 2022, according to the company and the Spain-Brazil Council Foundation.
After the signing, ANAC (Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency) must ratify the contract to begin the airport management transition process. Once all the formalities have been completed, Aena will start the management of the eleven airports in a progressive manner, starting with those with the least traffic. The transition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.
After the signing, Aena’s Chairman and CEO, Maurici Lucena, expressed his satisfaction because “one of the company’s main objectives is to deepen its internationalization and, with this transaction, Aena becomes the manager of the largest network of concessioned airports in Brazil“. “This highlights the experience and operation of Aena’s network model,” he added.
The most important of the airports granted to Aena, Congonhas Airport, is the second busiest airport in Brazil. It is located in the State of São Paulo, the largest financial center in Brazil (the largest economy in the region and the ninth largest in the world) and in Latin America as a whole.
The award of the eleven-airport group is the largest international development operation in the history of Aena, which, under the Aena Brasil brand, will manage 100% of six other airports in the Northeast of the country from 2020 and has a presence in the United Kingdom, where it manages 51% of London-Luton airport, and in Mexico, Colombia and Jamaica.
