Dear shareholders, welcome to the Ordinary General Meeting of Aena S.M.E., S.A. I give the floor to the Secretary to report on the preliminaries of the general meeting and the attendance and representation figures.
Thank you, Chairman. Dear shareholders, good morning. The Notice of this Ordinary General Meeting of Aena has been published on the website of the National Securities Market Commission and on the company's website, as well as in the newspaper Expansión on March 25, 2021. As stated in the Notice of the meeting, the Board of Directors decided to hold a general meeting with the shareholders attending by proxy and voting remotely, as well as by telematic presence in line with the recommendations issued by the competent authorities.
For legal purposes, the meeting is considered to be held at 12 Peonías Street , Madrid, as announced in the Notice of Meeting, where the chair of this meeting is in person. This general meeting of shareholders has been recorded and broadcast live on the company's corporate website and will also be made available to the public on said website. The legal aspects applicable to such recording, as well as the indications and terms for exercising the corresponding rights, are set out in the general meeting notice. Likewise, and in order to guarantee the participation of shareholders, the company has provided all the necessary means for shareholders to validly delegate their proxy, vote in advance, or attend remotely, together with the possibility of making interventions and proposals on voting by telematic means.
From the date of publication of the notice of meeting, all legally required documentation for this meeting has been available to shareholders at the registered office and on the company's website, including the notice of meeting, among others, the proposed resolutions, the Board's reports, and documentation related to the annual accounts. As already stated in the notice of meeting, the governing body forecast was that the general meeting would be held on the first call as it is being held. I now give the floor to the President.
I inform you that in accordance with the provisions of the Spanish Companies Act and in the regulations of the Mercantile Registry, the Board of Directors has decided that the minutes of this general meeting shall be drawn up in the presence of the notary public of Madrid, Mr. Javier Navarro-Rubio Serres, who is present at this meeting.
I give the floor to the notary to report on this procedure to the general meeting.
In the minutes of the notarial summons dated April 12, 2021, under number 789 of my protocol, there is a record of the summons issued by the Secretary of the Board in the exercise of the powers delegated by the Board of Directors so that, in accordance with the provisions of Article 203 of the Capital Companies Act, he may attend these general shareholders' meetings and take the minutes thereof. Likewise, in accordance with Article 101 of the regulations of the Mercantile Registry, I inform you that I have deemed the capacity of the applicants to be sufficient and that I have verified that this meeting was convened in accordance with the applicable legal and statutory requirements. Thank you very much.
In accordance with the provisions of the Articles of Association and the regulations of the general meeting, the meeting is chaired by Mr. Maurici Lucena Betriu, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. Juan Carlos Alfonso Rubio, myself, in my capacity as Secretary of the Board of Directors, will act as secretary for the meetings. As a consequence of the existing restrictions on travel, the directors in attendance have been connected remotely. Aena's share capital amounts to 150 million shares, each with a nominal value of EUR 10, fully subscribed and paid up, and belonging to a single class and series. I shall now report on the final quorum of attendance at the meeting. Having registered the list of attendance, the quorum is as follows. We have present at the meeting 68 shareholders holding 1.233 million equivalent to 0.82% of the company capital.
Represented at the meeting, we have 350 shareholders that own 390 million shares equivalent to 86.41% of company capital. Of those present, 65 shareholders who hold 1,233,368 shares have exercised their right to vote through remote procedure. Present or representing social capital with a right to vote is EUR 1,308,540,170, represented by shareholders holding 130 million shares, which is the equivalent of 87.236% of company capital. Accordingly, the quorum of attendance generously exceeds 55% of fully paid-up capital with a right to vote in order to be validly established of this meeting. This quorum is considered to be definitive given that five minutes after the start of the meeting, all shareholders attending by telematic means were on record. The breakdown and details of these figures shall be included in the list of attendees, which shall be included in the minutes of the meeting.
Consequently, there is sufficient quorum for the general meeting to be validly held on first call and for the adoption of all the resolutions included on the agenda. I now give the floor to the President.
On the basis of the information provided by the Secretary and there being sufficient quorum in accordance with the provisions of the law and the Articles of Associations, I declare the ordinary general meeting of Aena S.M.E., S.A. to be validly constituted on first call insofar as the legal and statutory requirements for this purpose have been fulfilled.
In accordance with the provisions of the Mercantile Registry regulations, I give the floor to the notary again to address the meeting in order to verify the existence of any reservation or protests from any shareholder regarding the above statements by myself or the Secretary regarding the number of shareholders attending the general meeting, the capital present and represented, and the valid constitution of this general meeting.
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 101 and 102 of the regulations of the Mercantile Registry, as notary of the general meeting, I hereby advise the general meeting that if any shareholder wishes to express reservation or protest regarding the statements related to the number of shareholders in attendance or the capital present, as well as in relation to the valid constitution of the general meeting, they may do so as of this moment and for a period of 10 minutes utilizing the button that appears at the top right of the screen in the form of an envelope, which will allow them to send the reservations for the shareholders in attendance. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, notary.
I now give the floor to the Secretary to read out the rules of procedure for this general meeting established by this presidency in accordance with the rules of procedure of the general meeting.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I shall now read out the rules of procedure of the meeting, a copy of which I have given to the notary for the record. After report of the President, we will now inform whether we have received proposals of shareholders within two hours prior to this meeting and until 12:05. In case that there are existing interventions by the shareholders, they will be replied verbally during the meeting or they will be responded in writing within seven days. Also, the notary has been given access to the means by which these interventions are received so that they may be recorded in the minutes.
I will now give a brief summary of the proposed resolutions of the governing council for voting. First, the proposed resolutions included on the agenda shall be put to the vote, followed as appropriate by a vote on the proposed resolutions that may be legally appropriate to be dealt with at the general meeting without appearing on the agenda and which, if any, are proposed by shareholders. Once a proposal resolution has been approved, all other proposals relating to the same shall automatically lapse. We also remind you that, as stated in the notes, meeting shareholders may vote now and until the end of the reading and voting of each of the items on the agenda by clicking on the button under the heading voting. We hope you find this summary useful.
I will end my intervention by giving the floor to the President to present his report to the Board.
Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders and I on behalf of Board of administrators of Aena, I would like to welcome you to the General Meeting of our company. As occured on the General Meeting of 2019 due to the pandemic we're holding this event as you know, remote presence. However we are glad to see the forum is again very high.
In contrast with 2019, as I mentioned at the previous general meeting, that, as you know, we held in a delayed manner in October instead of April, I was saying that in contrast with 2019, the record results of that year have become a very difficult year for our company and for the air travel sector in general to the extent that Aena has linked record levels of activity and profits and income in 2019, followed by year 2020 where the collapse of air traffic was spectacular and the financial results followed suit. However, not everything is bad news. As President and CEO of the company, honestly, Aena has shown a capacity to adapt to the environment, which is quite formidable in circumstances that you know, which are very adverse.
Since the beginning of the health crisis, we have adapted our management to attenuate the consequences of the sudden collapse in activity by means of measures to ensure the continuity of the company and the protection of short and mid-term cash flow thereof. This has been done mainly through strengthening our financial position and through a very demanding plan for cost reduction. In other words, even though it is obvious that in 2020 and also the first quarter of 2021 are a year and a quarter that are very bad for air industry, for mobility in general, our operational solvency has allowed us to continue to be a world reference in the airport environment.
We continue to be strong and stable, and this will be very good for us not only to complete the managing the consequences of the pandemic, but also to have a good start for the future recovery, which we are seeing ever closer in the next few months. I will talk about that later. As I was saying, at the general meeting of 2019 held in October 2020, the situation caused by the coronavirus and its profound impact in the air industry has no historical precedent. The ones that are most that we remember have very bad memory because we're in times of war, but never has air traffic fallen so deeply as in 2020. The fact is that it was always worse than what systematically the main international IATA, ACI mainly.
As I used to say in the past few months, when we make an assessment and we set ourselves in the most pessimistic scenario, one week or a few weeks later, that worst-case scenario had become the best of the following analysis after a few weeks. It is not surprising that by 2020, the total collapse of air traffic in Spain represented 72%. When we add up the most important airports of Aena in the international scene, London Luton, and Aena in Brazil, this traffic reduction is simply marginally better, 71% reduction. As we don't want to think that we are doing things or we are having bad luck than our competitors, this drastic reduction in activity has been very similar in the main airport managing companies of Europe, for instance, ADP, Fraport, Zurich, etc.
In the short term, I think that prudence must continue to preside our estimates. It is true that, unfortunately, we have signs or signals that we're nearing the beginning of the end, as Churchill would have said, but it is also obvious that it is difficult to say when exactly we will have this long-form recovery. I will talk about this later because I think it is my obligation to make some sort of estimate. What cannot be discussed, or denied, is that recovery in 2021 will be mainly linked to the control of the pandemic.
In this regard, it is highly hopeful that we can see day by day the progress of the vaccination process, that we will reach the so-called herd immunity at some point next summer, and this will be a very clear turning point because not only will we have a big reduction in contagion in hospital and ICU occupation due to the pandemic, but we will also have, if you allow me the expression, a big rise, a huge rise, a boom, if you allow me the expression, in the use of air transport. Translated to specific dates, the European airlines, the ones we work with for many years, trust that this recovery will occur in the second half of the summer season. In other words, in the late summer. That is our estimate, and it is in agreement with the most robust scheduling of airlines.
What seems also certain is that the most sought-after destinations will be beach and sun. And in this area, Spain has many advantages because, in the first place, we have high-quality sun and beach destinations. And also, in a situation of uncertainty such as this one, and that will continue to influence on the behavior and decisions of citizens, the fact that Spain has a first-level health system will reinforce the attractive power of our tourist destinations. On the other hand, I think that cities and long hauls will take longer to recover, probably in the next winter season. But it is obvious that we have seen last summer in Easter that when the public authorities give some signals to raise some of the restrictions, once the latent demand surges with a lot of strength.
Some have gone to the extent of saying that when the restrictions are removed completely, we will have for some time to something similar like the Roaring 20s of the 20th century after World War I. So we are also convinced that if the countries of the European Union come to an agreement to do something similar as what we call the European vaccination passports, this will also be a contribution to the recovery of the confidence of passengers and therefore of the volumes of air traffic. As I was saying before, the control of the pandemic will be the main factor that will promote air traffic. The evolution of the economy will also come to bear. The pandemic, as we all know, has damaged significantly our economy. In 2020, the latest official published numbers give a reduction of 11% in our GDP, which is unprecedented. Se espera.
In 2021, we expect to see the economy rising again strongly, with a growth rate for GDP of about 6.5%. It is also true that there will be a certain symmetry between the behavior of the first semester and the behavior of the economy in the second half of the year. Talking about air traffic, this will be exactly this way, even in a more pronounced manner, because we are at the center of the hurricanes, so to say, regarding restrictions on mobility. But the economy will recover in 2021 and also in 2022. In 2022, we could expect to grow at about 7%, thereby allowing us to recover earlier activity levels before the pandemic hit. It is true also that not all analysts and not all institutions foresee the same scenario, but it may well happen that the economy will rise very significantly.
As regards projections on air traffic, the main international institutions are telling us that at some point in the period 2024 to 2027, we will be in a position to reach pre-pandemic levels. In this period, from 2024 to 2027, it is this period that we have used at Aena to put together our own proposal, DORA II, a new document for airport regulations, which I will cover in greater detail in a few minutes. In short, we expect, as I said, that at some point between 2025 and 2026, we will go back to the levels of air traffic that we had before the pandemic. It will be first a European traffic for Spanish airports, then long-haul, and finally domestic flights. As regards the operational and health-related actions implemented by Aena since 2020 and already in place in 2021, I want to be absolutely clear.
First of all, Aena has used all of its resources, and let me say it once again, all of its resources in order to ensure that all airports comply with health-related measures to mitigate transmission of COVID-19. In terms of operational measures, we have, first of all, adjusted the capacity of our infrastructures to cater for the real demand. Remember the hard lockdown last year? We had very low levels of activity, so we had to adapt the infrastructures, which are huge in size, to cater for the actual demand. Secondly, we implemented very strict measures for the protection of the health of our passengers and employees. And as an extension to that, we launched an operational recovery plan based on the guidelines put together by the European Aviation Safety Agency and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
These two institutions laid down their guidelines, which became law in Spain last year, and besides, in 2021, as we have been doing since the onset of the pandemic, Aena has been collaborating with the Ministry of Health and the different regions, the different autonomous communities, and apart from health controls, we have currently in Spain 15 clinics, and let me say this very clearly. We have obtained the international accreditation for our airports, COVID-Safe Airports, for our main infrastructures in Spain. At this point, I would like to insist on the fact that apart from certain misinformation that we have seen, the health controls installed and deployed in our airports meet the same demands as any other major airports in the rest of the European Union. In fact, health controls in Spain exceed the recommendations of the ECDC.
By the way, this European institution has stated that the number of cases of infected passengers throughout Europe are minimal. Based on evidence, on scientific evidence, we have seen, as the center has stated, that imported cases do not have a significant impact on the evolution of the pandemic in any one country, and therefore in Spain. As a conclusion to this point, let us hope that no more misinformation is spread on health controls in place at major airports such as the one in Madrid. This hurts and jeopardizes, in a very significant manner, the reputation of one of the leading airports in Europe, Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. It also harms and jeopardizes the image and reputation of one of the leading companies in this country, Spain.
I don't know of any other regions in the world where governments have criticized harshly the main access point for that region. Let me now move on to the next block on financial and economic measures for the mitigation of the consequences of the pandemic. These measures have been focusing above all on limiting outbound cash flows whilst protecting the financial robustness of the company. How have we achieved this? Through a cost-saving plan, as I mentioned earlier, that has allowed us to reduce outbound cash flows by more than EUR 840 million. Secondly, we have been able to strengthen our financial position through loans with different financial institutions. This is a process that took place in 2020 and has continuity in 2021. By the way, we have adopted prudential guidelines for loans in 2020 and 2021.
And lastly, as you all know, in 2020, we decided not to have a payout of dividend corresponding to 2019. Apart from these measures, Aena is fully aware of the relevance of our company in air transportation, tourism, and the economy in general. So one of our greatest priorities since the onset of the health crisis has been searching for solutions that may benefit all stakeholders whilst preserving always the different elements that have an impact on the social interest of Aena. There's a number of measures that have been adopted and approved in the last few months. First, we have kept extremely competitive airport fees, the lowest fees in Europe. We have launched new incentives to promote the recovery of air traffic in the summer season. And finally, we have introduced payment deferrals, discounts in rental fees, and renegotiation of contracts.
At this point, and given the unpleasant controversy that has come along in recent months, I would like to elaborate, take the opportunity during this general meeting to tell you about a number of details. First of all, I would like to say that right from the beginning, Aena has been very clear about its willingness to reach agreements. Secondly, the proposal made by Aena to modify commercial contracts in order to achieve a new balance, to strike a new balance in its accounts. Therefore, proposals made by Aena were established based on Royal Decree 35/2020 of urgent measures of support for the tourism industry together with other regional guidelines with similar contents. In my opinion, and in the opinion of the members of the Board, the proposal made by Aena is rational, fair, and balanced.
It offers a number of facilities, including rental discounts, thereby ensuring the feasibility of contracts, the feasibility of our providers while maintaining jobs. More than two-thirds, that means more than 66% of people renting out spaces in our airports have accepted the proposal. As I said, Aena's proposal is fair and, in my opinion, very generous. We are defending, we have been defending, and we'll keep defending our position. When disagreement arises, let me say it once again, some people are taking this to court, but it's never Aena. One of the main arguments, both in the public arena and in private conversations, points at the fact that given the size of our company and the public impact of Aena in the overall economy of the country, shareholders of our company should be more generous than those of other companies that are purely private. I've said it once.
Let me say it very clearly. Aena shareholders, both public and private, and let me remind you that Spanish taxpayers own 51% of the shares of this company. Deserve at least the same treatment for them that the shareholders of all those companies that are taking us to court. By the way, some of those companies have very powerful hedge funds, sovereign funds, and large multinationals behind them. We're asking of them to understand, to contribute with their own effort. Aena has been doing it on its side. We expect the same from them. Let me now move on to give you a summarized overview of the results for the company. As regards activity, you can see that on the slide, on the screen. Taking into account the 20-46 Spanish airports and the 23 international airports where we have a stake, these are the main figures.
Total volume of passengers was 120.5 million, which accounts for a 60% reduction compared to 2019. In Spain alone, we handled 76.1 million passengers. That's 72% down from 2019, and in international airports, the decrease was significantly lower, only 52%. In the first quarter of 2021, unfortunately, we have seen a very hard situation. The decrease in traffic has reached 80.4% compared to 2020 and 84.4% compared to 2019. The lack of symmetry in the reduction of traffic underlies the value of our geographical diversification. We believe we have been right in our very stringent approach to diversification throughout the world. This is a slide that provides you with a summary of results for 2020. The ones for the first quarter of 2021 will be made available on the 29th of April. First of all, total income in 2020 reached EUR 2.2 billion.
That means a decrease in income of 50.2% compared to 2019. Operating expenses were reduced in 2020 by 21.7%, moving down from EUR 1.7 billion to EUR 1.3 billion from 2019 to 2020. That is clear proof of the efficiency in our management and the successful cost-saving measures that we have implemented. You know that traffic hit an all-time low, but Aena, because of its general infrastructures, kept all of its airports open throughout the year. The third element is a clear reflection of our commitment to CAPEX in 2020. This comes from DORA I, the regulatory framework. Under extremely adverse circumstances, as a consequence of the huge drop in activity levels and because of the cost-saving measures implemented, we have seen a decrease in EBITDA, moving down from EUR 2.7 billion to EUR 715 million, which accounts for a 74.2% decrease.
We have also seen a 91% less in net financial debt that has escalated from 2.4 times to 9.8 times. Not so much because of financial debt going up. It didn't really go up, but because we saw a great reduction in EBITDA. Therefore, the company, for the first time since 2012, saw losses in our P&L statement of EUR 1.5 billion. Unfortunately, our shareholders will not be able to get any compensation for their shares, but I'm optimistic. I believe we will be able to revert the situation, and in little time, we will be able to have proper payout for our shareholders as they deserve. From the point of view of credit rating, we are still working on financial figures. We're very proud because two of the main agencies applied a very significant A rating under extremely harsh circumstances.
We have kept this rating with both of them, reflecting the fact that there are significant risks for air traffic recovery. But by and large, within IBEX 35, we are the company with the best rating at this point. As regards the evolution of Aena shares, obviously, the severe effects of the propagation of COVID-19 have had their toll in the value of our shares. We closed the year in 2020 in much better shape than we expected to reach after the onset of the health crisis. As I say, we closed the year with a market capitalization leading to a value of our shares of EUR 142.2, in contrast to the minimum value that I mentioned earlier after the state of emergency was proclaimed. At that point, the share reached EUR 91.
When we analyzed comparatively the evolution of Aena with that of the rest of the IBEX 35, it was very similar. The IBEX 35 index in 2020 lost a value of 15.5%, and the loss of value of the shares of Aena was 16.9%. I would also like to emphasize that when we compare the evolution of the shares of Aena with those of the transport and tourism sector in Spain and with a large majority of European counterparts, our performance in the stock exchanges was much better. On yesterday's date, the equity of the company was EUR 20,325 million. That means that the share at closing date yesterday was EUR 136.9. Before going fully into the next part of my presentation, which will focus on the Climate Action Plan for Aena, we will show you a video which I trust will be of your interest.
Aena presents its Climate Action Plan, with which it becomes the first company in Spain and one of the first in the world to be accountable for its decarbonization strategy. In 2020, Aena has defined a new roadmap that includes sustainability, focusing on the protection of the environment, decarbonization, and climate emergency as key parts of its management. The plan presented today is the crucial cornerstone of our sustainability strategy, our accountability to improve the recovery of our sector and become a driver of the economy of our country. Its main objective is to be carbon neutral in 2026 and Net Zero Carbon in 2040 through the reduction of emissions of Aena, as well as its counterparts like the airlines and the various industries that work at the airports. To achieve this, we will invest 550 million EUR in the period 2020-2030.
The Climate Action Plan is structured in three strategic programs. The first is carbon neutrality, which has the objective of achieving this as an airport operator, and the second part is sustainable aviation, to become a driver of other aviation sector industries to increase the decarbonization, and the third pillar is the community and sustainable value chain through the proactive cooperation with the supply chain and the community in general. The objective of reaching carbon neutrality will be achieved through three lines of action: the use of renewable energies with its plan and using green energy for air conditioning, energy efficiency that will reduce the consumption of energy per passenger, and the electrification of its vehicles.
The sustainable aviation program has also clean propulsion for aircraft that has the participation in the use of new sustainable fuels and in cooperation with main agents to reduce emissions caused by operations, and sustainable ground handling fleets, which aims at being sustainable for all the vehicles that operate at our airports, and the community and sustainable value chain includes sustainable mobility in the airports and proactive cooperation with the supply chain and the community at large. The Climate Action Plan is a guarantee of Aena to preserve the planet because we will soon be able to fly without restrictions, and we must do it with the confidence that Aena works for sustainable recovery of air traffic activity.
That's why we will make an investment effort with EUR 550 million for this Climate Action Plan because we know it is necessary to recover the connectivity that will guarantee the social cohesiveness and will enable economic growth. Sustainability is our main trip. We go towards zero emissions. Aena, Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda of Spain. The consultative voting of the Climate Action Plan of Aena up to 2030, which you have just been informed of in the video, was as a result of a commitment established with society at the meeting held in October 2020. The plan we present today and we submit to the consultative voting of this general meeting was approved by the Board of Directors of Aena in March 2021, and it includes, as you can see in the image, what has been summarized in the video.
So I will try to be brief in my explanations. I would first like to make a statement of intentions. The fight against climate change, and particularly the promotion of environmentally responsible technologies, will be a priority for Aena. The vote on this plan that we submit at this meeting to your consideration is a landmark for the company, but also it is a landmark in the corporate environment. We are the first Spanish-listed company that takes this initiative formally, and we are one of the first companies in the world that takes a firm step forward in its commitment to accountability to shareholders every year in a specific manner in environmental matters.
We all want the economic recovery after the pandemic will be as fast as possible, and therefore the climate action plan of Aena, which is being discussed and voted today, defines ambitious objectives which, in my view, will reaffirm us in the environmental sector as world leaders in the airport management. However, the main concern for environmental sustainability is not new for us. It is an old friend, so to speak, and the proof is that our commitment has been recognized by the Carbon Disclosure Project, which, during two consecutive years, has distinguished our company with the highest rating, which is the A rating. You can find all the information about the specific content of the climate action plan of Aena in the documentation we have attached to the participation in this meeting.
I will only say that the investment commitment in 10 years is EUR 550 million, and as shown in the video, we have three large pillars of action: carbon neutrality that will allow us to set the groundwork for becoming Net Zero Carbon by 2040, that, in other words, it will not make any emissions, zero emissions. The second pillar is the sustainable aviation, and the third is the community and sustainable value chain. Finally, in this area, I would like to emphasize that we have decided to create the figure of the Chief Green Officer, which is a figure that will be very common in companies all over the world. In the case of Aena, the Chief Green Officer will be Amparo Brea, who is our excellent director of innovation, sustainability, and client experience.
Allow me now to briefly discuss the future of Aena, the future that we can set within the regulatory framework and on the basis of the strategic plan of the company. On the former, Aena organizes its activity in five-year periods. We are in the last year of the DORA I, the first regulatory program, and Aena has made a proposal, its very own proposal. It's not binding for DORA II, the regulatory framework of the period 2022-2026. This DORA II, this airport regulation document for said period, is formally approved by the regulators, specifically the Council of Ministers, prior to December 30 of this year. I honestly believe that the proposal for this new DORA of Aena is well balanced, considering the huge impact the pandemic has had on the reduction of air traffic.
DORA is a regulatory proposal by Aena that considers a moderate investment of EUR 450 million average per year for a total of EUR 2.2 billion for the five-year period. Even though the pandemic has shifted down in the calendar, some of the actions that we have proposed include in this period 2022-2026 the enlargements of the Madrid-Barajas Airport and Josep Tarradellas in Barcelona, and the basic works will begin in 2025, although some actions have been carried out, will be carried out in 2024. As regards tariffs and the competitiveness of the company and the competitiveness that the company induces through its rates to the rest of the air and tourism sector, what the company proposes for stability. I will give you just the data which speaks by itself.
Ten years later, the tariffs in 2026, if this proposal is approved, will remain at the same level as the tariffs in 2017, measured according to the maximum income per passenger IMAP. In ten years, considering the inflation and that we have more safety and quality requirements, the fact that the company is able to freeze the tariffs and keep them as ten years earlier is a clear effort of the company for the recovery of the sector, and it also attests to the high efficiency and cost containment that we propose for this coming regulatory period. We will continue to be the airport manager with the lowest tariffs in Europe, and I think this is important to keep in mind.
As regards the proposal for economic rebalancing, you know that the majority of regulatory frameworks of sectors which are under economic regulation have exceptional clauses related to economic rebalancing with natural force majeure events in the airport sector. This possibility that is stipulated in the law to request an economic rebalance when such events cause a strong impact in the activity is a general clause, and Aena considers that it can receive this economic rebalancing due to the unforeseen nature of the pandemic so that some of the financial damage can be redressed, so the Board of Directors in February approved a request, a formal request for rebalancing, and the authorities have six months to reply.
But I would also like to point out that regardless of the amount of this compensation, Aena proposes to start this compensation only in 2027 when we will be sure that the pre-pandemic activity will be fully recovered and therefore it wouldn't have a macroeconomic effect and microeconomic as well against the cycle. So that's why we propose to defer the effective payment of this compensation regardless of the amount to 2027. The next challenge for the future is related not only to the sustainability but to innovation and digital transformation. Our ambition, my personal ambition as well, is to substantially improve client experience and the efficiency of the company by means of digital innovation and transformation. This year, we will approve an innovation strategic plan which we are already working on and for which we have very little to go to implement it.
As a sample of the things that we are doing, I would like to emphasize that last week we formalized the creation of the startup accelerator of Aena. We already have five startups working in the facilities of Aena Ventures that are in the airport of Barcelona-El Prat, and we will hope they will provide valuable input to our company. The innovation plan will be part of a general strategic plan because the time has come to prepare a new strategic plan for Aena.
So therefore, in the next few months, we will update the essential elements that will guide our recovery along the next few years, the contribution to midterm sustainable aviation and the use of new technologies, as mentioned earlier, to obtain new income and to reduce costs, the review of our relationships in the commercial level, and the integration of our infrastructures in cities and the communities that host our airports. As the corporate governance, the good governance strategy of Aena in 2020 will be focused to review our corporate governance system to include recommendations of the good governance code approved in June 2020. We will submit to the approval of this meeting a proposal for modifying the bylaws and the regulations thereof, mainly in order to create a sustainability commission and to formalize the possibility of holding general shareholders' meetings in an exclusively telematic form.
Secondly, the compliance with the policy for selecting members of the Board. We have exceeded the objective to have at least 30% of the members of the Board of women, and right now we have the objective of 40% at least in the Board for 2022. In summary, at December 31, 2020, the company fulfilled the majority of recommendations of the Good Governance Code of Listed Companies, with the exception of those concerning the remuneration of Board members due to our condition of us being a state mercantile company. Recommendation number four, that is partially fulfilled to the extent that the company has a communication contact policy with shareholders, even though in December 2020, in the Board of Directors, we agreed to prepare a new policy related to communication of financial, economic, non-financial, and corporate information.
I would like to finish this section of corporate responsibility and governance underlining a fact we are very proud of. We had a slogan for a few months of 2020 that said something like, "We have never had in Aena so few flights, but never those flights were so important." I think that there's no doubt about that, and it is with pride that we can say that we have guaranteed that our airports in the most difficult times of the pandemic have brought to our airports some flights that carried essential goods and also people who could finally go back home. As regards the agreements that we submit to your approval, the Secretary will now tell you which these are. I would just like to express my acknowledgment for the excellent work carried out by Jordi Hereu as independent Board member of the company.
Jordi Hereu has left Aena, its Board of Directors, because he was appointed President of Hispasat. Hispasat is a very lucky company, and we will sorely miss him. I would also like to say that we vote here the ratification of the appointment of Juan Rio Cortés as independent counsellor. Juan Río is an excellent incorporation to the company. He has broad experience in the sector of telecommunications and in the digital environment, and this experience will be very valuable for Aena. Another important point, let me remind you once again, is the voting on the Climate Action Plan. Allow me to conclude. The strong growth in the activity for Aena in recent years was harshly interrupted in 2020 by the worldwide health crisis that has hit the tourism industry, and more precisely the air traffic industry.
Notwithstanding the above, Aena has proven it is capable of adapting and withstand the consequences of this health crisis after such a difficult year in 2020, and I do believe that we have reasons for moderate optimism. The progress being made in vaccination will allow us to reach in the next few months the herd immunity we aspire to that will lead to a recovery in air traffic and our main financial magnitudes. We haven't forgotten about the future, of course. I've said it over and over again during my intervention. We have environmental sustainability, innovation, and digital transformation at the heart of all of our actions to the extent that I would like them to become a corporate obsession. I believe, I am convinced that the environment, innovation, and digital transformation will be the pillars on which we will build our renewed global leadership in the world of airports.
We're very fortunate to have an extremely professional team, highly qualified people on board. The talent will allow us to keep delivering a service with maximum quality. I would like to thank the rest of stakeholders in the air traffic industry for their collaboration, for their joint efforts in managing this very difficult situation, and let me extend that acknowledgment to our shareholders, to government, and to Spanish society at large. We have never forgotten that we deliver public services that are highly valued, and therefore our responsibility is great. At this stage where we are beginning to witness the beginning of the end, I know that I can count on all shareholders, on the members of the Board, the senior management, and very especially the workers at Aena, the most precious asset in this company.
Thank you so much, indeed, ladies, gentlemen, for your attention and above all for the trust you have in Aena. We now move into the next block. I yield the floor to the chairman again.
Dear shareholders, as there are no requests to speak, we shall proceed directly to the vote on the items of the agenda. So I now yield the floor to the Secretary.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dear shareholders, it is reported that interventions have been made by shareholders attending this meeting, and I therefore proceed to list the interventions received, which will be answered within seven days from today in accordance with the provisions of the law. At the end of the speeches, we shall now. I will give you a summary. I have given a copy of this to the notary public.
In accordance with the regulations, we will have favorable votes, those of concurrent shares, having deducted those votes from those shareholders that have voted against, have cast a blank vote, or have told us about their intent to abstain. Those shareholders that want to cast a blank vote or abstain, please use the application online. I will now proceed to list what is subject to this. First of all, the approval of the P&L accounts, their financial statements. Examination and approval, as the case may be, of the individual annual accounts and the individual management report of the company for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Second, examination and approval, as the case may be, of the consolidated annual accounts, balance sheet, profit and loss account, statement of changes in equity, cash flow statement and notes, and the consolidated management report of the company and its subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 2020. Three, examination and approval, as the case may be, of the proposed application of the company's profit for the year ended December 31, 2020. Four, examination and approval, as the case may be, of the statement of non-financial information for the year ended December 31, 2020. Five, examination and approval, as the case may be, of the corporate management for the year ended December 31, 2020. Six, composition of the Board of Directors, ratification of the appointment of the following members of the Board of Directors, Mr. Juan Rio Cortés as independent director.
Seven, amendment of the Articles of Association. 7.1, amendment of articles 15, calling of the General Shareholders' Meeting, 18, right to attend, 20, place and time of the General Shareholders' Meeting, and 28 minutes to regulate attendance by telematic means, and the holding of the General Shareholders' Meeting exclusively by telematic means. 7.2, amendment of article 31, competence of the Board of Directors, 41 committees of the Board of Directors, and the inclusion of article 44B for the creation and regulation of a Commission on Sustainability and Climate Action. 7.3, amendment of article 42, Executive Committee, 43, Audit Committee, 44, Appointments, Remuneration, and Corporate Governance Committee, 49 Annual Corporate Governance Report, 50 Annual Report on Directors' Remuneration, and 50 bis Climate Action Plan and U pdated Climate Action Reports.
Point 8, amendment of the regulations of the General Shareholders' Meeting, Articles 11, Announcement of the Notice of the General Shareholders' Meeting, 14, Right to Attend, 19, Venue, and 45, Minutes to regulate attendance by telematic means and the holding of the General S hareholders' Meeting exclusively by telematic means.
[Foreign language]
Nine, voting on a consultative basis on the annual directors' remuneration report for the 2020 financial year. Ten, voting on a consultative basis on the Climate Action Plan 2021-2030. The last point, 11, is about the delegation of powers to the Board of Directors for the formalization and execution of all resolutions adopted by the general meeting of shareholders, as well as to substitute the powers received from the meeting and for their conversion into a public instrument, interpretation, correction, supplementation, development, and registration.
At this point, and as I mentioned earlier, we have the vote concluded on the resolutions of this meeting. Also, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 528 of the Capital Companies Act, this general meeting is informed that the Board of Directors has approved the amendment of the Board of Directors' Regulations dated 26 January 2021, the justification and new text being the one resulting from the specific documentation on this matter that has been made available to the shareholders prior to this general meeting on the company's website. I remind you that it is not necessary to vote on this item. I give the floor again to the President.
Dear Secretary, dear shareholders, I am informed that all the proposed resolutions of the Board of Directors in relation to all the items on the agenda have received the votes in favor of a sufficient number of shares for the valid approval of the resolutions. Accordingly, the following are hereby declared. All the proposals for resolutions formulated by the governing board on all the items on the agenda in the terms in which they were put forward by the governing body were adopted. The resolutions passed and the results of the votes will be published in full on the company's website within the next five days, and before the conclusion of the meeting, I give the floor to the Secretary.
The resolutions passed and the results of the voting shall be published in full on the company's website within five days following the end of this general meeting.
Finally, we would like to inform you that the notarial minutes shall be considered as minutes of the general meeting. It is not necessary to proceed to their approval in accordance with the provisions of the Capital Companies Act and the regulations of the Mercantile Registry. Thank you very much, and I finally give the floor to the President.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Before I declare this general meeting closed, I would like to thank you on behalf of the Board of Directors of Aena and on my own behalf for attending this general meeting. We would also like to express our gratitude, as I said earlier, to all those people who make up the company and most especially to you, our shareholders, for your confidence in this great company. Thank you very much. The meeting is adjourned.