Sumar rejects DORA III for consolidating an airport model with “more emissions and tourist pressure”

DORA III (the third Airport Regulation Document of Aena for 2027‑2031) is not a law nor a bill submitted for parliamentary vote, but a regulatory instrument of the Government approved by Agreement of the Council of Ministers under Law 18/2014. Therefore, strictly speaking, it does not have its own “parliamentary processing,” although it does generate a lot of parliamentary control and debate activity.

Current status (September 2026)

As of September 15, 2026, the available information places DORA III in the final phase of administrative processing, still pending final approval by the Council of Ministers:

• The Aena Board of Directors approved the DORA III proposal in February 2026 and sent it to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) and the CNMC, along with a total planned investment of 12.888 billion euros (about 9.991 billion as regulated investment) for 2027‑2031, with a proposed average increase of €0.43 per passenger in airport fees.
  (e.g., analysis in Demócrata: article on Aena's proposal)
• The CNMC issued its report in June 2026 questioning part of Aena's approach and recommending a slight annual reduction in fees for the 2027‑2031 period, not an increase, positioning itself between Aena's stance and that of the airlines, which demand greater cuts (see the press release “The CNMC concludes that airport fees should be reduced between 2027‑2031”, CNMC).
• Various notes from the Ministry of Transport and Moncloa emphasize that DORA III is still a proposal under processing that must receive “final green light” from the Council of Ministers in the second half of 2026; the Government has explicitly indicated September 2026 as the deadline for that approval (for example, Transport note from 18‑09‑2025 and various Demócrata reports).
• In the political and media sphere, it is said that the Council of Ministers “must approve DORA III before September 30,” but in the most recent pieces it is still spoken of in the future or conditional, indicating that, as of today, the formal agreement has not yet been adopted (analysis of the Aena‑CNMC clash).

In parallel, in the Congress and Senate, questions, non-legislative motions, and motions related to fees and investments linked to DORA III have been processed, but always as political control over the Government and Aena, not as processing of the regulatory document itself (for example, Senate motions to condition investments included in DORA III).

Next steps until full implementation

According to the practice followed in DORA I (2017‑2021) and II (2022‑2026), and the schedule that the Government and Aena themselves have detailed, the remaining steps are basically executive and regulatory:

• Technical closure of the file in the General State Administration
  The DGAC must finish processing Aena's proposal in light of the CNMC report and the allegations of airlines and other actors (including bilateral bodies such as the one created with the Basque Government: note on the bilateral airport body).
• Approval by the Council of Ministers
  The Council of Ministers must adopt the Agreement approving DORA III 2027‑2031. This agreement bindingly sets:
  • The framework of regulated investments by airport and period.
  • Capacity and service quality standards.
  • The maximum tariff path (IMAP) for the five-year period.
• Official publication in the BOE
  As with previous DORAs, the Council of Ministers' agreement is made public through a Resolution of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation that includes as annex both the agreement and the full text of the DORA (examples: DORA I 2017‑2021, BOE‑A‑2017‑2052; DORA II 2022‑2026, BOE‑A‑2021‑15917). That will be the moment when DORA III acquires full legal effect.
• Operational deployment by Aena (from January 1, 2027)
  Once approved and published:
  • Aena must adapt its annual fees to the parameters of DORA III, following CNMC consultation and supervision procedures.
  • The planned investment programs will be launched (expansions and remodelings in major airports such as Madrid‑Barajas, Barcelona‑El Prat, Málaga, Alicante, archipelagos, etc.).
  • Political and territorial control will continue: questions and motions in Parliament, regional airport coordination committees, bilateral bodies (such as the Basque one), and monitoring by the CNMC and the involved ministries.

In summary, as of today, DORA III is in an advanced administrative processing phase, still pending approval by the Council of Ministers and its publication in the BOE. It does not go through a parliamentary process per se, but it is surrounded by intense political debate and control in Congress and Senate. Real implementation will begin with its approval by the Council of Ministers in 2026 and its effective application from January 1, 2027.

In plans like DORA III (third Airport Regulation Document 2027‑2031), the Council of Ministers mainly exercises a competence of final decision and political framing, while the technical drafting and consultations fall to Aena, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC), and the regulators (CNMC, AESA). This structure is designed in Law 18/2014 and is reflected in the Council of Ministers' agreements and the BOE resolutions that publish the DORAs.

1. Basic legal framework

Law 18/2014 configures Aena's network of airports of general interest as a service of general economic interest and establishes that:

• The Airport Regulation Document (DORA) is the basic instrument that sets, by five-year periods, capacity and quality standards, investments, minimum service conditions, and the maximum income per passenger linked to fees.
• The State reserves, among other functions, the “regulation, approval, and supervision of the Airport Regulation Document (DORA) or any other document or plan establishing the operating criteria of airports of general interest”, as well as airport fees.

On this basis, several provisions specify exactly what the Council of Ministers does.

2. Specific competencies of the Council of Ministers in the DORA

Based on the articles of Law 18/2014 (section on “Network of airports of general interest of Aena, S.A.”) and the agreements published in the BOE for DORA 2017‑2021 and 2022‑2026, four main competencies of the Council of Ministers can be identified:

• Approval of the DORA:
  • It corresponds to the Council of Ministers to approve each DORA by agreement, at the proposal of the competent Ministry of Transport, and after report from the Government Delegated Commission for Economic Affairs.
  • The law sets a maximum deadline: the new DORA must be approved, at the latest, by September 30 of the last year of validity of the previous DORA. Hence, the law itself and official press releases state that DORA III “must be approved by the Council of Ministers before September 30” of the transition year.
• Approval of extraordinary revisions:
  • If “exceptional causes” occur (for example, sharp traffic drops due to natural disasters, wars, or serious crises), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation may propose a modification of the DORA.
  • This modification is processed with reports from CNMC and AESA and, again, is submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval by agreement.
• Decision in extension scenarios:
  • If a new DORA is not ready on time, Law 18/2014 provides for the extension of the current document for one year, maintaining basic conditions.
  • In that case, the investments to be made during the extension must be approved “by Agreement of the Council of Ministers, after report from the Delegated Commission and the Directorate General of Economic Policy”.
• Authorization of structural operations on the network:
  • The law assigns to the Council of Ministers the authorization of closure or disposal of airport infrastructures or facilities of the state network amounting to 20 million euros or more, in line with the obligations set in the DORA.
  • Operations below that threshold correspond to the Secretary of State, but always within the framework set by the DORA approved by the Council of Ministers.

3. What the Council of Ministers DOES NOT do

The same Law 18/2014 limits other phases of the procedure that are not the competence of the Council of Ministers:

• Aena drafts the initial DORA proposal, after consultations with representative user associations (airlines).
• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation drafts the final proposal, obtains reports from CNMC, the State Aviation Safety Agency, and the Directorate General of Economic Policy.
• The Airport Coordination Committees and State‑Autonomous Community bilateral bodies issue reports and proposals but do not have decision-making capacity: they neither legally condition the content of the DORA nor replace the competence of the Council of Ministers.
• The General Courts do not vote on the DORA: it is a government act of a regulatory and planning nature, subject to political control (questions, interpellations, commissions, etc.) and eventually judicial review, but not formal parliamentary approval.

4. Summary

In summary, in plans like DORA III the Council of Ministers concentrates the key decisions: it approves the five-year regulatory framework that sets investments and airport fees, approves its exceptional revisions, determines the investment regime in possible extensions, and authorizes relevant closures or sales of network infrastructures. All the technical, consultation, and supervision work is articulated around this central competence of political and legal approval of the plan by the Government.

The expansion of airport infrastructures within or around the Natura 2000 Network in Spain is subject to a dual framework: that of the European Union (Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC) and its basic transposition in Spain (Law 42/2007, on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity) along with Law 21/2013, on environmental assessment. From this framework derive very strict requirements of evaluation, authorization, exception conditions, and compensatory measures.

1. Key regulatory framework

• EU law: Directive 92/43/EEC (Habitats), particularly its article 6, which regulates the protection of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and, by reference, the entire Natura 2000 Network.
• Basic domestic law:
  • Law 42/2007, on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity, which develops in Spain the Natura 2000 Network regime and reproduces the scheme of article 6 of the Directive (appropriate assessment, no-damage test, exceptions for imperative reasons of overriding public interest, and compensatory measures).
  • Law 21/2013, on environmental assessment, which regulates the environmental impact assessment of projects, including those affecting Natura 2000 sites. It establishes that:
    • Annex I projects are subject to ordinary environmental impact assessment.
    • Annex II projects and any project that may directly or indirectly affect Natura 2000 sites are subject at least to simplified environmental impact assessment, with the possibility that the environmental authority requires ordinary assessment.
• Sectoral airport regulations (e.g., Royal Decree 2591/1998 on the management of airports of general interest and its amendments) regulate planning and service area but do not reduce in any way the previous environmental requirements.

2. Mandatory prior environmental assessment

According to Directive 92/43/EEC (art. 6.3) and Law 42/2007, any plan or project that may significantly affect a Natura 2000 site, even if not directly related to its management, must undergo an appropriate assessment of its impacts, individually and in combination with other plans or projects.

Law 21/2013, in coherence with this, provides:

• Preparation by the promoter of an environmental impact study or report, which in the case of Natura 2000 includes a specific report on impacts on the habitats and species targeted for conservation.
• A process of public information and consultations with affected administrations and interested parties as an essential part of the procedure.
• Mandatory consultation with the competent body managing the affected Natura 2000 sites, and referral of the file to the environmental authority, which must determine whether the plan or project harms the integrity of the site.
• Issuance of an environmental impact declaration (or impact report, in the simplified procedure) that establishes:
  • Whether the project can be authorized.
  • Environmental conditions, preventive and corrective measures.
  • If applicable, compensatory measures and monitoring program.

3. No-harm test and public participation

Both Directive 92/43/EEC and Law 42/2007 require that authorities may only authorize the project once it is ensured that it will not harm the integrity of the Natura 2000 site, and “if appropriate, after public information.” Law 21/2013 articulates that public information and mandatory consultations with interested administrations as central steps of the evaluation procedure.

4. Exceptions for imperative reasons of overriding public interest

If the assessment concludes that the airport expansion causes a significant harmful effect on the Natura 2000 site and no reasonable alternatives exist (location, design, scale, etc.), it can only be authorized if:

• There are imperative reasons of overriding public interest, including social or economic ones, which must be declared case by case:
  • By law, or
  • By a reasoned and public agreement of the Council of Ministers or the competent regional government body, according to Law 42/2007.
• All necessary compensatory measures are adopted to ensure that the overall coherence of the Natura 2000 Network is protected (e.g., habitat restoration, creation of new equivalent conservation areas, management improvements, etc.).
• Such compensatory measures are incorporated into the environmental assessment, applied in planning and execution phases, and sent to the European Commission, according to Law 42/2007.
• If the site hosts priority habitats or species, admissible reasons are restricted (human health, public safety, positive environmental consequences) and, for other imperative reasons, prior consultation with the European Commission is required, according to Directive 92/43/EEC.

5. Practical summary

In practice, expanding an airport in the Natura 2000 Network requires, at minimum:

• Environmental impact assessment (ordinary or simplified) with a specific report on Natura 2000 impacts.
• Public information and broad consultations, including with the managing body of the site.
• Reasoned environmental decision certifying absence of harm or, if harm exists, analysis of alternatives.
• To authorize despite harm: formal declaration of imperative reasons of overriding public interest and adoption of sufficient compensatory measures notified to the European Commission.

These requirements make the expansion of airport infrastructures in Natura 2000 legally possible only in very justified cases and under especially rigorous environmental and participatory control.