Spain to Offer More Airport Slots this Winter

Spanish airports operator AENA will offer 28 percent more landing and takeoff slots during the 2006-07 winter season, thanks to more capacity at Madrid´s new T4 terminal and at Barcelona´s El Prat Airport, the company said on this week.

Low-cost carriers easyJet and Ryanair had been granted a limited number of slots to offer domestic flights, in addition to their international routes.

AENA said 867,110 landings and takeoffs would be available at Spanish airports from the end of October to the end of March, 188,000 more than a year earlier.

The number of seats available during the period will increase by a third to 120 million thanks to more slots and larger planes.

The low-cost carrier which Iberia is planning to launch in October has asked for 2,499 slots, AENA said.