A cell phone store salesman who sings opera, shaking with nerves and win a talent show. David Bisbal working in a nursery before leaving in Operación Triunfo. The entertainment industry has been selling the same message for decades: talent is everywhere, you just have to discover it. But there is another, less romantic talent that often goes unnoticed: that of making money where no one else had seen it.
Aena has just demonstrated it with its 2024 results. It has turned a testimonial line of business into a gold mine: VIP services. In just six years they have gone from 79 million euros (2019) to 152 million in 2024, the last with the results published. There will be millions more when they publish those for 2025.
They have doubled their turnover and now represent more than 10% of the company’s commercial income, compared to the 5% they represented in 2019. He told it The Economist and it is a great perch to tell the change in the way in which Aena extracts value from its airports: it depends less and less on the gross number of passengers, and increasingly focuses on monetizing the experience of those who can and want to pay to avoid the inconveniences of mass transit.
The distribution of AENA’s income
Aena closed 2024 with revenues of 5,828 million euros, 13.3% more than the previous year. But not all that money comes from the same place, nor does it grow at the same rate, as we can see by reading the company’s income statement. The structure of its income is built on four pillars:
1. Aeronautical revenues
→ 3,148 million euros, +13.7%.
Is the hard core of your business: These are the fees that airlines pay to use the facilities. Landings, takeoffs, use of terminals, passenger assistance…
They are regulated income, with prices set according to a framework that limits their growth. They represent 55% of the total. They increase with traffic (309.3 million passengers in Spain in 2024, 9.2% more), but their room for maneuver is narrow.
2. Business income
→ 1,760 million euros, +14.7%.
This is where Aena has learned to play. These are the income generated within the airports, beyond the basic air transportation service. And the growth is greater than that of traffic, which means that Aena is making more money for each passenger.
Within this category, the breakdown is striking:
- Duty free shops (duty free): 527 million euros, the largest component. A growth of 28.2% compared to 2023.
- Restoration: 347.9 million (+7%).
- Parking: 204.1 million (+13.3%).
- Vehicle rental: 207.7 million (+12.5%).
- VIP Services: 156.2 million (+31.3%).
- Stores: 136 million (+1.6%).
VIP services are not the ones that bill the most, but they are the ones that grow the most. And its margin is brutal: 83.3% of EBITDA in 2024, only surpassed by the commercial business as a whole.
3. Real estate services
→ 114.3 million euros, +8.4%.
This is perhaps the segment less visible but most profitable of the entire Aena structure. With an EBITDA margin of 78.8%, only surpassed by commercial activity, real estate services demonstrate that it does not take a lot of volume to generate a lot of value.
This includes the rental of space for air cargo (representing 46% of the total for this line), but also offices, hangars, land and technical premises. It is a long-term business, with stable contracts and recurring clients.. The investor’s dream. Airlines need operational bases, logistics operators require warehouses near the runways, and auxiliary companies request spaces for maintenance.
Air cargo in particular has become a strategic asset. With electronic commerce that continues to grow throughout the world, Airports are not only passenger transit, but also logistics centers. Aena knows this and charges accordingly. Cargo revenues reached 52.7 million euros in 2024, consolidating itself as the main component of this segment.
It is a less elastic business than commercial business because it does not grow at the same rate as passenger traffic, but it provides predictable income, high margins and little volatility. A corner of almost assured stability.
4. International activity
→ 727.3 million euros, +17.9%.
Aena has been trying for years to replicate the model that is working so well outside of Spain. And the numbers are starting to add up. International activity grew by 17.9% in 2024, the largest increase of all segments, although its profitability is still significantly lower than that of the rest of the group, a 44.9% EBITDA margin vs the 60.2% average.
The heavyweight is Brazil. The consolidation of Eleven Airport Block (BOAB)which Aena began operating in 2023, contributed 196.3 million euros in revenue and 102.9 million to EBITDA.
There are eleven airports distributed throughout the country, with 27.4 million passengers in 2024. 52.4% EBITDA margin, still far from Spanish standards but on the rise. The other Brazilian asset is the Grupo Aeroportuario del Nordeste (ANB), with six airports that moved 15.9 million passengers.
Then there is Luton, London airport in which Aena has a stake. It moved 16.7 million passengers and generated £345.5 million in revenue. EBITDA was £155.3 million with a margin of 44.9%. Excluding the concession fee and extraordinary adjustments, the real margin would be 56.8%. Historical record of income and EBITDA.
The international commitment has strategic logic: Spain has a natural growth limit, and diversifying geographically reduces risks. But it also has its complexities. Concessions abroad operate under different regulatory frameworks, with tighter margins and political and exchange risks. Aena is learning that exporting the model is not automatic, but it is fair to admit that the 2024 numbers indicate that it is on the right track.
The VIP business
What makes the case of VIP services especially interesting is that its expansion does not seem to have peaked. In 2024, Aena inaugurated new lounges in several airports and expanded the existing ones in Ibiza, Tenerife South, Seville, Asturias and Palma de Mallorca. Fast Track revenues (priority access to security control) grew by 36%, and Fast Lane revenues (preferential boarding areas) grew by 44%.
The logic is simple: At an airport, time and comfort are scarce commodities. And scarce goods can be sold dearly.. Aena is exploiting it. It is not just about opening more VIP rooms, but about diversifying the offer: rest cabins (Air Rooms), personalized escort services (Meet & Assist), quick access segmented by type of traveler…
The associated expense has also grown (41.2 million euros in 2025, 31% more), but the margin is still very high because the marginal cost of serving an additional customer is quite low.
From a certain angle, this is the democratization of luxury: Previously, VIP rooms were exclusive to executives with company cardsbut now anyone with 30 or 40 euros can buy one-time access. It is not so expensive if the traveler had to eat something no matter what, and especially if we are talking about a stopover of several hours.
From another angle, is increasing stratification: There are those who can afford to avoid lines and those who cannot, and that distance widens as airports become congested. Aena has found a business niche in that gap, understanding that airport infrastructure is not only a public service, but also a commercial platform with several layers of monetization. For better or worse.
A cash generation machine with a future to exploit
The set works:
- Aena closed 2024 with an EBITDA of 3,510.3 million (margin of 60.2%) and a net profit of 1,934.2 million.
- Operating cash generation reached 2,746.9 million, 23.7% more than in 2023.
- Net debt was reduced to 5,498 million, with a ratio debt/EBITDA of 1.57x.
- In 2025, its share value appreciated by 21%. Not bad… with an asterisk: it was a discrete growth within the IBEX 35, which closed its best year since 1993.
All this while maintaining an investment plan of 12,888 million between 2027 and 2031, of which nearly 4,000 million will go to improving commercial services and passenger experience. Translation: more VIP rooms, more commercial spaces, more ways to extract value from every square meter of terminal.
Airports have ceased to be simple transit infrastructures and have become shopping centers with landing strips. And within that logic, premium services are the most promising growth frontier.
Aena has doubled its VIP income in six years. And nothing indicates that it is going to stop, because As long as airports remain congested and time remains at a premium, there will be people willing to pay to avoid friction. from such an environment. The talent was waiting to be discovered: that of a listed company extracting gold from the queues of its terminals.
Featured image | Pedro Novales
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