Spain’s airport operator Aena has kicked off a €404 million competitive tender to run its “Sin Barreras” assistance programme for passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) across 20 airports, including the strategic hubs of Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat. The contracts will run for three years, extendable to five, and will be awarded through a dialogue-competitive procedure aimed at lifting service quality benchmarks before the 2029 traffic forecasts come into play.
The tender is split into five geographic lots, giving both multinational facility providers and specialised local SMEs a shot at the business. The Madrid lot stands alone owing to the scale of Barajas (over 60 million passengers in 2025), while Lot 2 groups the main northern and Catalan airports and Lot 3 covers the busy Andalusian and Levante coastline gateways used heavily by international tour operators.
In parallel, organisations and individual travellers planning trips through Spain’s airports often need quick, reliable visa guidance. VisaHQ’s digital platform (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) streamlines the application process for Spanish Schengen visas, offering live status tracking and concierge assistance that dovetails neatly with Aena’s goal of frictionless travel. From corporate delegates coordinating mobility support to leisure visitors requiring short-stay permits, VisaHQ removes administrative hurdles long before passengers request PRM assistance at the terminal.
The Balearic and Canary archipelagos form the remaining two lots—critical nodes for cruise change-overs and long-stay winter tourism. Current incumbents include France’s Alyzia, the UK’s Mitie and Spain’s Adelte, whose contracts expire this summer.
Aena handled 2.68 million PRM passengers last year—nearly 1 % of all travellers—and survey data ranks the service as the network’s best-rated feature (4.94/5). Yet growth in senior tourism, tighter EU disability-rights rules and the looming Entry/Exit System mean greater throughput and complexity.
![Aena opens €404 million tender to upgrade assistance for passengers with reduced mobility]()
The new tender therefore weights bids not only on price but on technology upgrades—such as real-time mobile apps for assistance requests, low-emission electric buggies and smart-wearable beacons that guide visually impaired passengers from curb to gate.
For workforce-mobility teams, the revamp is more than social responsibility branding. Multinationals relocating staff to Spain—or routing conferences through Iberian hubs—will benefit from shorter request lead-times (target: 12 hours versus the current 48) and guaranteed airside wheelchair availability.
Airlines may face higher per-sector PRM fees once the new contracts kick in, but Aena argues that higher service standards cut boarding delays and missed‐connection compensation.
Bidders have 20 days from EU Official Journal publication to pre-qualify; shortlisted companies will then enter a structured dialogue phase before submitting final offers. Contracts should be signed by early July, allowing winners to recruit and train staff before the late-summer peak.
For investors, the move signals Aena’s intent to embed inclusive-mobility metrics into its forthcoming 2027–2031 regulatory tariff proposal—potentially making Spain a test-bed for similar schemes across Europe.
The tender is split into five geographic lots, giving both multinational facility providers and specialised local SMEs a shot at the business. The Madrid lot stands alone owing to the scale of Barajas (over 60 million passengers in 2025), while Lot 2 groups the main northern and Catalan airports and Lot 3 covers the busy Andalusian and Levante coastline gateways used heavily by international tour operators.
In parallel, organisations and individual travellers planning trips through Spain’s airports often need quick, reliable visa guidance. VisaHQ’s digital platform (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) streamlines the application process for Spanish Schengen visas, offering live status tracking and concierge assistance that dovetails neatly with Aena’s goal of frictionless travel. From corporate delegates coordinating mobility support to leisure visitors requiring short-stay permits, VisaHQ removes administrative hurdles long before passengers request PRM assistance at the terminal.
The Balearic and Canary archipelagos form the remaining two lots—critical nodes for cruise change-overs and long-stay winter tourism. Current incumbents include France’s Alyzia, the UK’s Mitie and Spain’s Adelte, whose contracts expire this summer.
Aena handled 2.68 million PRM passengers last year—nearly 1 % of all travellers—and survey data ranks the service as the network’s best-rated feature (4.94/5). Yet growth in senior tourism, tighter EU disability-rights rules and the looming Entry/Exit System mean greater throughput and complexity.
The new tender therefore weights bids not only on price but on technology upgrades—such as real-time mobile apps for assistance requests, low-emission electric buggies and smart-wearable beacons that guide visually impaired passengers from curb to gate.
For workforce-mobility teams, the revamp is more than social responsibility branding. Multinationals relocating staff to Spain—or routing conferences through Iberian hubs—will benefit from shorter request lead-times (target: 12 hours versus the current 48) and guaranteed airside wheelchair availability.
Airlines may face higher per-sector PRM fees once the new contracts kick in, but Aena argues that higher service standards cut boarding delays and missed‐connection compensation.
Bidders have 20 days from EU Official Journal publication to pre-qualify; shortlisted companies will then enter a structured dialogue phase before submitting final offers. Contracts should be signed by early July, allowing winners to recruit and train staff before the late-summer peak.
For investors, the move signals Aena’s intent to embed inclusive-mobility metrics into its forthcoming 2027–2031 regulatory tariff proposal—potentially making Spain a test-bed for similar schemes across Europe.
