What happened

On Friday 8 May 2026, the Canarian regional government's Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Mobility filed formal objections to DORA III — the Documento de Regulación Aeroportuaria, Aena's binding investment plan for the five years from 2027 to 2031. At its heart sits a single demand: Aena should «revise the distribution of funds, or at least give a detailed technical justification». The filing went to the Spanish Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.

Transport minister Pablo Rodríguez, a member of the Tenerife-rooted regional party Coalición Canaria, said the document was the result of «a process of joint work with the island councils». It contains general remarks on the Canarian airport model and concrete proposals for each individual airport. The sharpest point, however, is the investment ratio between Gran Canaria and Tenerife South.

The numbers side by side

Both airports are Canarian heavyweights. But the weights are unevenly distributed. In 2025, Aeropuerto Gran Canaria handled 15,826,553 passengers — four percent more than the year before, and a historic high. Tenerife South came in at 13,969,678 passengers, plus 1.7 percent. That puts Gran Canaria roughly 1.86 million passengers ahead. The pattern repeats on aircraft movements: Gran Canaria recorded 142,884 takeoffs and landings, ahead of Tenerife South, and ranks as Spain's fifth busiest airport by operations.

The investment plan flips the picture. Aena allocates 375 million euros in regulated investment to Tenerife South, against 219 million for Gran Canaria — a ratio of roughly 1.7 to 1, in favour of the smaller airport. Adding the unregulated portion, Tenerife South receives 553.6 million euros, Gran Canaria 336.3 million. Even on the broader figure, the southern Tenerife airport stays ahead despite handling fewer passengers and fewer operations.

Why Tenerife South gets more

Aena's reasoning has been on the record for months. The Tenerife South terminal is, in Aena's own words, in a «deteriorated state» and needs a complete refurbishment. The Tenerife South package includes 289 million euros for an extension and forms part of a broader modernisation that runs into the next regulatory period DORA IV (2032 to 2036) and totals 550 million euros. The justification: in the previous five-year cycle, Tenerife South received only 68.9 million euros — a backlog argument.

Gran Canaria already had its big extension between 2010 and 2014, a 200-million-euro project that grew the terminal from 105,000 to 173,000 square metres. Aena's argument: the Aeropuerto Gran Canaria is therefore in a better operational state and needs less construction money in the current cycle. A DORA-IV design project for Gran Canaria is, however, scheduled for 2027 to 2031 — meaning the actual construction money would only arrive in the next period.

The political own-goal

The current demand from the Canarian regional government is politically unusual. Coalición Canaria, the party of transport minister Rodríguez and regional president Fernando Clavijo, has its roots in Tenerife. As recently as April 2026, María Fernández, the regional director-general for transport and mobility, sold the Aena plan as a regional success: the archipelago had achieved a commitment that Aena «invest more than 1.8 billion euros in the islands». The Tenerife South share was part of that win.

Four weeks later, the same plan is being criticised. That is not just a technical argument, it is a political turn. One plausible explanation: pressure from the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, led by Antonio Morales of the rival Nueva Canarias party. Morales sits in habitual opposition to the regional government, and the regional submission explicitly notes the document was prepared in «joint work with the island councils». In other words: the island councils' demands are baked in — including ones that are politically uncomfortable for the regional government itself.

What is also in the package

The submission goes beyond the Gran-Canaria-versus-Tenerife-South split. It demands binding DORA commitments for the planned rail link to Gran Canaria and Tenerife South airports — reservation of land, definition of connection conditions, alignment with the parallel rail projects of the island councils. It seeks transitional measures for overloaded facilities, particularly at Lanzarote-César-Manrique pending the planned 2030 expansion. And it puts the special situation of the non-capital airports such as El Hierro and La Gomera on the table: modernisations, possibly the introduction of dedicated air traffic control services.

One central demand is the explicit recognition of the Canarian particularity: insularity, ultraperipheral region status, the high frequency of inter-island flights, and the heavy dependence on air transport for cohesion across the non-capital islands. The regional government wants this written into DORA III not as background rhetoric, but with concrete operational consequences — on ground transport tariffs, on assistance for passengers with reduced mobility, on connectivity for the smaller islands.

What changes for travellers

For tourists and business travellers using a Canarian airport over the next five years, three points are practically relevant. Tenerife South is heading into a longer construction phase from 2027 onwards — Aena's modernisation runs beyond DORA III, and passengers should expect temporary disruptions through delays and adaptation works. Even though the regional government is pushing back against Aena's tariff hikes, the operator has confirmed an annual increase averaging 30 cents per passenger. For inter-island flights, the figure is below ten cents. And if the rail link actually materialises, by the early 2030s travellers may be able to reach the capital or the north from Gran Canaria or Tenerife South airport without a car — a shift away from the entirely car-dependent arrival pattern that has prevailed so far.

In practical terms: anyone heading to Gran Canaria or Tenerife South over the coming summers will likely notice no change. Anyone planning for 2028, 2029, 2030 should keep the construction phase in view — particularly at Tenerife South. The investment debate decides whether the facility is modernised in ten years' time or not.

Frequently asked questions

What is the dispute about?
Aena's 2027–2031 investment plan allocates 375 million euros to Tenerife South and 219 million to Gran Canaria. The regional government wants this redistributed because Gran Canaria handles more passengers.
Which airport has higher traffic?
Gran Canaria. In 2025, Aeropuerto Gran Canaria handled 15.83 million passengers, Tenerife South 13.97 million. Gran Canaria also leads on aircraft movements with 142,884.
Who is asking for the redistribution?
Pablo Rodríguez (Coalición Canaria), the Canarian transport minister, in formal submissions to the Documento de Regulación Aeroportuaria DORA III. The submission went to Spain's Ministry of Transport and to Aena.
What is DORA III?
The Documento de Regulación Aeroportuaria is Aena's five-year airport investment plan. DORA III covers 2027 to 2031 and earmarks 1.806 billion euros for the Canarian airports — more than the previous two periods combined.
Why is the position politically awkward?
Coalición Canaria has its roots on Tenerife and previously claimed the Tenerife South investment as a win. Now its own transport minister is asking for funds to be moved away from Tenerife — against the party's earlier framing.