Alicante | Ryanair

The Alicante Provincial court has turned down the appeal made by the budget airline Ryanair against the National Airport Authority ( AENA ) to allow on foot boarding for its passengers.

The judge in the case stated that as Ryanair uses electronic walkways in other Spanish airports such as Barcelona ,Madrid -Barajas , Gran Canaria and Malaga then he saw no reason why they should not use them at El Altet airport in Alicante.He upheld the decision made by the Alicante Mercantil court in 2011.

Ryanair stated that by having to pay 2 million euros a year to use the walkways , they were in fact compromising their budget status as an airline.They signed up with Alicante because they allowed the walk on / walk off system.They felt that the walkways had been imposed on them by AENA when the new terminal had opened.

Ryanair has now pulled out 80% of its flights into and out of Alicante.This has had and will have a devastating effect on tourism this summer.Now the tourist industry is asking AENA to change its mind and go back to the negotiating table with Ryanair.