This past week the Spanish Aviation industry has begun to experience internal turmoil as a union representing Air Traffic Controllers (ATC controllers) has started pushing back against the federal government. The pushback comes as the government seeks to privatize ATC operations at seven airports. If this comes to fruition, roughly 30% of ATC operations will become privatized.

The government has argued that privatization will enable healthy competition, lowering costs for travelers and giving the country's travel economy a boost. Many ATC controllers argue that privatizing these airports will put unnecessary strain on the industry without reducing passenger costs.

Privatization plans

According to Aviacionline, Spanish officials have announced they are considering giving control of select ATC towers to private companies. Talks of privatizing select towers began on January 31st when Aena, a public company that manages Spanish Airports, suggested that the government make ATC tower operations available for purchase to private parties. This would give airport managers more control over operations, enabling them to choose the company responsible for monitoring and controlling its airspace.

If the government decides to go ahead with this initiative, it must first be approved through a public hearing. The hearing will be known as "for the liberalization of the air control service in the towers of certain airports." No details or information concerning dates have been announced for the hearing, as there is still no guarantee it will happen. The Spanish Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, has shared that the organization is interested in privatizing select airport towers. Should these privatization efforts go well, the Transportation Ministry will likely consider privatizing more of the sector and other parts of the industry.

A public company known as ENAIRE currently handles the country's ATC needs. Should the sector be privatized, the dynamic of how ATC operations are staffed and funded will likely change dramatically. ENAIRE will likely become another company competing for airport tower privileges alongside private companies.

The seven airports that may be privatized include Santiago de Compostela (SCQ), Bilbao (BIO), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Tenerife North (TFN), Tenerife South (TFS), Málaga-Costa del Sol (AGP), and Gran Canaria (LPA). Together these airports employ over 30% of all ATC controllers in the country.

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ATC pushback

The privatization plans have met heavy pushback as the Union of Air Traffic Controllers (USCA) has spoken out against these liberalization plans. The union represents roughly 90% of all ATC controllers in the country. A representative of the USCA, Alfredo Jordán, shared that privatizing ATC will make everything more complicated, require more controllers, and increase costs. Jordán stated the following concerning the plans,

"(privatization) will entail higher costs, because it will require the hiring of more staff.

"the integrated procedures between approach and tower services must be duplicated and it will not be possible to adjust as it is done now, nor to carry out special operations such as departures and arrivals on opposite runways.

"(Resulting in) an increase in costs for companies in fuel, maintenance, personnel and general expenses."

What do you think of the idea that Spain could have these seven airport control towers privatized? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Aviacionline