02/09/2012 00:00
TW
0

Palma.—From January next year, AENA will be charging one euro for the use of a trolley at airport check-in and arrival.
The decision by AENA, which is also to be extended to airports in Malaga, Gran Canaria, South Tenerife and Alicante, is aimed at reducing the costs of providing a trolley service which nationally costs 11.8 million euros a year.

AENA is putting a contract for the management of collecting payment for trolley use out to public tender. There will be a need to have specialised machinery and other infrastructure set up to meet the requirements of the new “pay trolley” system. Responsibility for cleaning, maintenance and repair of the trolleys will form part of the same contract.

Unions representing airport workers, in particular “USO”, said in relation to the terms and conditions of the contract that they “couldn't understand” how such a measure could be introduced. The union said that it was another example of the obsession that AENA had with “charging for everything” and that the measure was going to cause severe congestion in the airport terminals as people will need to queue to pay prior to using a trolley.

AENA said that the use of trolleys past the security checks prior to boarding the aircraft will remain free but not those which are stacked in the public area outside the terminals.

According to the same sources, there are about 3'000 trolleys at Son Sant Joan. At all the airports where a “pay trolley” system is to be installed, each handling more than 8 million passengers, there are around 15'360 trolleys and at all airports managed by the Spanish National Airports Authority, around 37'000.