Cost-efficiency - Spain

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Terminal charging zone

Unit cost (KPI#1)

Actual and determined data
Total costs - nominal (M€) 2020-2021 2022 2023 2024
Actual costs 196 119 NA NA
Determined costs 201 104 105 105
Difference costs -4 16 NA NA
Inflation assumptions 2020-2021 2022 2023 2024
Determined inflation rate NA 1.3% 1.5% 1.6%
Determined inflation index NA 104.9 106.5 108.2
Actual inflation rate NA 8.3% NA NA
Actual inflation index NA 114.4 NA NA
Difference inflation index (p.p.) NA +9.5 NA NA

AUC vs. DUC

In 2022, the terminal AUC was +6.6% (or +7.8 €2017) higher than the planned DUC. This results from the combination of significantly higher than planned terminal costs in real terms (+6.3%, or +6.2 M€2017) and slightly lower than planned TNSUs (-0.3%). It should be noted that the actual inflation index in 2022 was +9.5 p.p. higher than planned.

Terminal service units

The difference between the 2022 actual and planned TNSUs (-0.3%) falls inside the ±2% dead band. Hence the loss of terminal revenues is borne by the ANSPs .

Terminal costs by entity

The 2022 actual real terminal costs are +6.3% (or +6.2 M€2017) higher than planned. This includes higher than planned costs for the main ANSP, ENAIRE (+5.8%, or +5.5 M€2017) and the NSA (+58.0%, or +0.7 M€2017) and in line with the PP for the MET service provider (-0.8%, or -0.02 M€2017).

Terminal costs for the main ANSP at charging zone level

Higher than planned terminal costs in real terms for ENAIRE in 2022 (+5.8%, or +5.5 M€2017) result from:
- Significantly higher than planned staff costs (+9.3%, or +7.6 M€2017), reported to be due to “unforeseeable new cost items not covered in the performance plan but required by law (Law 26/2022 of 19 December), which develops the figure of a Special Active Reserve , solving, among others, the problem of the forced retirement of ATCOs at age 65.” And the “actual increase of salaries for 2022 was +3.5%, following public employees’ salaries decisions adopted by Government, compared to 0%” in the PP.
- Lower other operating costs (-9.1%, or -0.5 M€2017) mainly due to the inflation index impact (+9.5 p.p.), since in nominal terms other operating costs are in line with the plan (-0.9%).
- Lower depreciation costs (-16.6% or -1.1 M€2017),
- Lower cost of capital (-25.3%, or -0.5 M€2017), mainly due to a lower asset base and slightly lower WACC rate (4.4% vs. 4.7% in the PP).

Actual unit cost incurred by the users (AUCU) (PI#1)

AUCU components (€/SU) – 2022
Components of the AUCU in 2022 €/SU
DUC 123.51
Inflation adjustment 10.01
Cost exempt from cost-sharing 5.13
Traffic risk sharing adjustment 0.00
Traffic adj. (costs not TRS) 0.01
Finantial incentives 0.00
Modulation of charges 0.00
Cross-financing 0.00
Other revenues -98.26
Application of lower unit rate -11.81
Total adjustments -94.91
AUCU 28.61
AUCU vs. DUC -76.8%
Cost exempt from cost sharing by item - 2022 €'000 €/SU
New and existing investments -250.8 -0.30
Competent authorities and qualified entities costs 721.6 0.86
Eurocontrol costs 0.0 0.00
Pension costs 0.0 0.00
Interest on loans 0.0 0.00
Changes in law 3,830.9 4.57
Total cost exempt from cost risk sharing 4,301.8 5.13

The actual terminal unit cost incurred by airspace users (AUCU) in respect of activities performed in 2022 (27.02 €) is -78.1% lower than the nominal DUC (123.51 €). The difference between these two figures (-96.49 €/SU) is due to:
- the deduction of the other revenues (-98.54 €/SU). Since aerodrome service is subject to a contract between AENA (the airport operator) and ENAIRE, and with a view that only the final approach costs are actually recovered via terminal unit rate, not the aerodrome ones, the amount of this contract for each year represents a subtraction of the cost base for the calculation of the unit rate under the form of other revenues.
- the positive inflation adjustment resulting from higher than planned inflation (+10.01 €/SU);
- the impact of adjustments resulting from the costs exempted from cost-sharing mechanism (+3.55 €/SU);
- the addition of the traffic adjustment (+0.01 €/SU) for the costs not subject to traffic risk sharing; and
- the application of a lower unit rate as foreseen in Art. 29(6) in year 2022 (-11.81 €/SU);
The share of the regulatory result in the AUCU (before the deduction of other revenues) is -2.9%.

Regulatory result (RR)

ENAIRE net gain on activity in the Spain Continental terminal charging zone in the year 2022

ENAIRE reported a net loss of -4.6 M€, as a combination of a loss of -4.3 M€ arising from the cost sharing mechanism, with a loss of -0.3 M€ arising from the traffic risk sharing mechanism.

ENAIRE overall regulatory results (RR) for the terminal activity

Ex-post, the overall RR taking into account the net loss from the terminal activity mentioned above (-4.6 M€) and the actual RoE (+1.3 M€) amounts to -3.3 M€ (-3.0% of the terminal revenues). The resulting ex-post rate of return on equity is -18.2%. It should be noted that an amount of +3.0 M€ is submitted as costs exempt from cost-sharing, reported to be mainly due to the unforeseen change in law and significantly impacting the staff costs.

Note 2: Ex-post RR does not take into account the application of the lower unit rate as per Art. 29.6 (loss in revenues corresponds to -9.9 M€ for 2022).