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 196 119 110 114
Determined costs 201 104 105 105
Difference costs -4 16 5 8
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% 3.4% 2.9%
Actual inflation index NA 114.4 118.2 121.7
Difference inflation index (p.p.) NA +9.5 +11.8 +13.5

AUC vs. DUC

In 2024, the terminal AUC was -12.2% (or -12.99 €2017) lower than the planned DUC. This results from the combination of significantly higher than planned TNSUs (+10.7%) and lower than planned terminal costs in real terms (-2.9%, or -2.8 M€2017). It should be noted that the actual inflation index in 2024 was +13.5 p.p. higher than planned.

Terminal service units

The difference between 2024 actual and planned TNSUs (+10.7%) falls outside the +10% threshold foreseen in the traffic risk sharing mechanism. The resulting gain of additional terminal revenues is therefore shared between the ANSP and the airspace users (see the main ANSP gain in Box 11).

Terminal costs by entity

The 2024 actual real terminal costs are -2.9% (-2.8 M€2017) lower than planned. This is the result of lower than planned costs for the main ANSP, ENAIRE (-3.5%, or -3.3 M€2017) and the MET SP (-1.3%) and higher than planned costs for the NSA (+30.1%, or +0.5 M€2017).

Terminal costs for the main ANSP at charging zone level

Lower than planned terminal costs in real terms for ENAIRE in 2024 (-3.5%, or -3.3 M€2017) are affected by the impact of inflation index (+13.5 p.p.) since, in nominal terms, the costs were slightly above planned (+7.6%). The variation in real terms results from:
- Slightly lower than planned staff costs in real terms (-1.3%), although higher than planned in nominal terms (+11.0%), mainly due to “(…) obligations derived by national laws on Public Employees salary and on Social Security Scheme National Law, (…)”Special Active Reserve” introduced by a national Law 26/2022 of 19 December (…) Judgment 1225/2024 of 30 October 2024, from the Supreme Court (…), in which ENAIRE (has) to pay 12.1 M€ outstanding salaries to air traffic controllers (….) for year 2024”,
- Significantly lower other operating costs (-19.8%), mainly due to “cost containment measures (…) across all categories of expenditure (…)”,
- Significantly lower depreciation cost (-18.0%), mainly due to “a lower percentage of asset base cost allocation in the TNC charging zone (…)”,
- Higher cost of capital (+3.3%), mainly due to a “higher WACC rate (5.69%)”.

RP3 summary

When considering the whole of RP3 (2020-2024) for Spain terminal charging zone, actual TNSUs are +4.4% higher than planned, while actual costs in real terms are -1.3% lower than the determined costs (some -6.6 M€2017). As a result, the weighted average actual unit cost over RP3 (133.12 €2017) is -5.5% lower than planned in the PP (140.92 €2017).

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

AUCU components (€/SU) – 2024
Components of the AUCU in 2024 €/SU
DUC 113.87
Inflation adjustment 11.30
Cost exempt from cost-sharing 2.12
Traffic risk sharing adjustment -6.14
Traffic adj. (costs not TRS) -0.50
Finantial incentives 0.00
Modulation of charges 0.00
Cross-financing 0.00
Other revenues -79.61
Application of lower unit rate -10.42
Total adjustments -83.26
AUCU 30.61
AUCU vs. DUC -73.1%
Cost exempt from cost sharing by item - 2024 €'000 €/SU
New and existing investments 217.1 0.21
Competent authorities and qualified entities costs 520.9 0.51
Eurocontrol costs 0.0 0.00
Pension costs 0.0 0.00
Interest on loans 0.0 0.00
Changes in law 1,428.5 1.40
Total cost exempt from cost risk sharing 2,166.5 2.12

The actual terminal unit cost incurred by airspace users (AUCU) in respect of activities performed in 2024 (30.61 €) is -73.1% lower than the nominal DUC (113.87 €). The difference between these two figures (-83.26 €/SU) is due to:
- the deduction of other revenues (-79.61 €/SU), corresponding to the amount recovered by ENAIRE through the contract with the airport operator (AENA) for aerodrome services (see also Note 1 in Box 10),
- the positive inflation adjustment resulting from higher than planned inflation (+11.30 €/SU);
- the impact of adjustments resulting from the costs exempted from cost sharing mechanism (+2.12 €/SU);
- the deduction of the traffic risk sharing adjustments (-6.14 €/SU);
- the deduction of the traffic adjustment (-0.50 €/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 2024 (-10.42 €/SU).
The share of the regulatory result (see items 10 to 14) in the AUCU (before the deduction of other revenues) is 10.3%.

Regulatory result (RR)

ENAIRE net gain on activity in the Spain terminal charging zone in the year 2024

ENAIRE reported a net gain of +9.8 M€, as a combination of a gain of +5.4 M€ arising from the cost sharing mechanism, with a gain of +4.4 M€ arising from the traffic risk sharing mechanism. See also Notes 1 and 2 in Box 10 above.

ENAIRE overall regulatory result (RR) for the terminal activity

Ex-post, the overall RR taking into account the net gain from the terminal activity mentioned above (+9.8 M€) and the actual RoE (+1.5 M€) amounts to +11.4 M€ (9.6% of the terminal revenues). The resulting ex-post rate of return on equity is 63.8%, which is much higher than the 8.6% planned in the PP. These results, however, should be seen in the light of specific financing arrangements for activities in Spain TCZ as detailed in Notes 1 and 2 in Box 10 above.

RP3 summary

When considering the whole of RP3 (2020-2024), ENAIRE generated a cumulative gain in respect of cost sharing of +14.9 M€, as actual total costs for RP3 were lower than planned. The traffic risk sharing mechanism generated a gain of +9.0 M€. Adding the actual RoE (+7.6 M€ over RP3) leads to an overall regulatory result of +31.4 M€, which corresponds to an average ex-post rate of return on equity of 30.7% (compared to 7.4% initially planned in the PP). These results, however, should be seen in the light of specific financing arrangements for activities in Spain TCZ as detailed in Notes 1 and 2 in Box 10 above.

Note 1: only a portion of terminal determined costs (≈23% in 2024) is charged to airspace users through terminal charges, while the rest is financed through the income relating to the service agreement with the airport operator (see also Box 9), which is “for somewhat fixed amount independent from the traffic levels”. This should be taken into consideration when interpreting the RR for Spain TCZ.
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, -5.4 M€ for 2023 and -10.1 M€ for 2024).