The rating agency Moody's Ratings has decided this Friday to improve the solvency rating of the Spanish airport operator Aena, raising its long-term issuer rating and unsecured senior debt rating to "A1" from the previous "A2" level.
The review is accompanied by a stable outlook and is due to the application of a new internal methodology by the agency.
The analysis firm argues that Aena possesses the necessary attributes to be rated two notches above Spain's sovereign rating (A3 stable).
According to Moody's, the company shows a fundamentally stronger credit profile than that of the State and has demonstrated recurrent access to capital markets and international financial institutions, which reinforces its degree of financial independence.
Moody's highlights that Aena's high exposure to international traffic, which represented nearly 70% of the total in 2025, acts as a shield for its cash flows against potential phases of economic weakness in Spain.
This diversification, along with a debt structure that includes non-domestic lenders, helps the company protect itself against possible episodes of tension that may affect local financing channels.
In terms of growth, the agency positively assesses the investment proposal for the regulatory period 2027-2031 (DORA III), which amounts to 12.9 billion euros.
Although this program will increase capital expenditure and reduce free cash flow from 2027 onwards, Moody's expects the funds from operations (FFO) to debt ratio to remain in a range of between 35% and 40% in the next 18 months, "which guarantees sufficient financial flexibility."
Aena's liquidity continues to be one of its strong points, with 2.9 billion euros in cash and cash equivalents at the close of the first quarter of 2026, to which is added an available credit line of 2 billion euros maturing in 2030.
The group's consolidated financial debt stands at 8 billion euros, with a comfortable repayment schedule that only contemplates around 500 million for the remainder of the fiscal year and approximately 1 billion euros in 2027.
Lastly, the agency insists that Aena's stable outlook is closely linked to that of Spain. Although no further upgrades are anticipated for the moment—as the rating is limited by the sovereign ceiling—Moody's warns that a potential downgrade of Spain's rating or a sustained deterioration of the FFO/debt ratio below 25% would trigger a downgrade in the company's rating.