The Battle of Lima: Tensions Flare as Airline CEOs, Airport Operator Clash Over New "Uncompetitive" Hub Tax
In a tense exchange, airline leaders warned Lima's new airport transfer tax will "make tickets more expensive for Peruvians" and cripple its potential as a regional hub, a charge the airport's CEO defended as a contractual necessity 12 years in the making.
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What was billed as a discussion on Peru's "Connected Future" at the ALTA AGM & Airline Leaders Forum 2025 quickly escalated into a high-stakes confrontation over the cost of the country's new infrastructure. A palpable tension filled the room as the CEOs of Peru's top airlines—LATAM, Sky, and JetSMART—publicly challenged the CEO of Lima Airport Partners (LAP) over a new airport transfer tax (TUUA), warning it makes Peru uncompetitive against rival hubs.
The debate centered on whether Peru can afford its massive new airport investment without stifling the low-cost travel model that has driven its growth. Airline leaders argued the new TUUA for connecting passengers, set to take effect, is a critical misstep.
"Our two close competitors connect to more cities, they don't charge customers to use [their hubs], and they make the connections in a shorter time," stated Manuel van Oordt, CEO of LATAM Airlines Peru, in a direct critique. He pointed out that regional rivals Panama and Bogotá are aggressively courting the same passengers. "Panama not only doesn't charge a fee to connect through Panama, it is also connected to double the number of cities as Lima... Lima is only at 50."
José Raúl Vargas, CEO of Sky Airline Peru, analyzed the cascading negative effects, explaining that the tax wouldn't just affect international travelers. "To the extent that the cost of passing through Lima increases... There will eventually be flights that... are not justified," he warned. "And as long as there is less supply, what will happen is that tickets will become more expensive for Peruvians. So there is an impact."
Francesca Luna, Country Manager for JetSMART Peru, framed the issue as a barrier to accessibility for the average Peruvian. "We are a poor region," she said, noting Peru's low travel rate of just 0.65 trips per capita. "It is important to be able to lower fares so that more people can access travel... Connectivity generates decentralized development, it generates jobs."
"We Have to Recover the Investment"
Facing the unified front from his airline partners, Juan José Salmón, CEO of LAP, remained firm, defending the new charge as a contractual right essential to recouping the massive investment in Lima's new airport.
"LAP is a private airport operator," Salmón stated plainly. "And the only way we have to be able to recover the investment is through tariffs."
As the mood tensed, Salmón clarified that this was not a new development, but a long-established part of the concession agreement. "This... possibility of charging a fee to a connecting passenger was born 12 years ago. It wasn't born a week ago, 12 years ago," he stressed.
While maintaining that LAP has been in "permanent conversation with the State" to find solutions for domestic connections, he refused to budge on the core principle: "Without affecting the contract, without affecting what is rightfully ours, because we have to recover the investment."
A Shared Enemy: Instability and Inefficiency
While the panel remained sharply divided on the tax, the tension pivoted as all four executives found common ground in their shared and deep-seated frustration with the Peruvian public sector.
"Since 2018, when we received the land, we have had 17 ministers of transport," Salmón said, a statistic that drew murmurs from the audience. "And that evidently adds complexity."
Vargas of Sky Airline echoed this, describing a constant battle against both poor regional infrastructure and misguided regulation. "We are still dealing with airports that can only be operated during the day," he said. “All the time we have airport closures due to infrastructure problems, runways... Cusco last week.”
The forum concluded with the industry's central conflict laid bare: a private sector making historic investments in Peru's future, yet hamstrung by an unstable government and a bitter internal dispute over who, ultimately, will pay the bill.
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