Aena brings together the world’s leading international duty-free shop operators for the world’s largest duty-free tender

  • The tender value reaches €18,000 million
  • The commercial space is over 55,000 m2, which equates to more than 7 football pitches
  • The aim is to attract the largest number of international operators to the different retail lots and incorporate the new trends
  • Aena’s Commercial and Real Estate Managing Director, Maria José Cuenda, has highlighted that “it is a unique opportunity that comes along once every decade or so”

Aena has brought together the world’s leading duty-free operators at the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes ahead of the largest tender of duty-free shops in the airport industry, which will be launched in Spain at the end of 2022 and whose tender value is €18,000 million. The business includes over 85 duty-free outlets occupying more than 55,000 m2 of space, the equivalent of more than 7 football pitches.

The presentation took place at the trade fair organised by TFWA (Tax Free World Association), the largest association of duty-free and travel retail operators, in the French city of Cannes from 2-6 October. The TFWA World Exhibition & Conference is held annually and is considered one of the largest forums in the industry.

The aims of the tender for the renewal of the management of duty-free shops at the airports in Aena’s Spanish network are to maximise the value of this business line, attract the highest number of international operators to bid for the different lots, diversify the business, adapt to the changes in trends that are occurring in both the type of passengers and in the model, and incorporate and promote the development and implementation of new technologies.

Aena’s potential for the international industry
Aena’s Commercial and Real Estate Managing Director, María José Cuenda, spoke during the presentation with Martin Moodie, founder and chairman of The Moodie Davitt Report, about “this unique opportunity that comes along once every decade or so” and that will allow operators from all over the world to provide services at the airports in Aena’s Spanish network.

“We want to play a central role in the industry and to do this, we have based the tender strategy on fundamental pillars such as sustainability, technology and customer experience,” said Maria José Cuenda. She also highlighted that Aena “has the best platforms: the airports of Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, the Canary Islands and Málaga, among others”.

Aena’s Commercial and Real Estate Managing Director has also highlighted the recovery of traffic at the network’s airports following the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching a total of 159,308,824 passengers in the first eight months of 2022, with a recovery of 85.3% of traffic compared to the same period in 2019.

She also emphasised the good management of Aena’s airports this summer, with no operational disruptions unlike other European airports; and Aena’s international experience as an operator of 23 airports in America and Europe – plus another 11 airports in Brazil as of February 2023 – which provides it with extensive knowledge of passenger types and commercial relationships.

Aena is working with the firm Álvarez & Marsal to develop this strategy.