Ibiza airport expansion: island chief backs protesters
Ibiza’s airport expansion plans face a protest on Sunday, with Consell d’Eivissa president Vicent Marí calling local opposition “logical and normal”. He said people had been given too little information and were being shown plans that had not been agreed. Marí said Aena’s announcement of the project had come as a surprise.
The island council chief said Ibiza Airport needs improvement and modernisation work, but rejected what he called a “macro-expansion”. Any building work, he said, should have the backing of Ibiza’s institutions.
Marí said a meeting with Aena had produced an agreement that all sides would be heard before the project was presented. He accused the state-owned operator of a major communications failure and said its plans did not fit the tourism policy being pursued in the Balearics and Ibiza.
The protest was called by the Associació de Joves d’Eivissa. Marí said he would meet the young organisers because he wanted to hear their concerns first-hand, adding that he understood their worry about the island’s future.
He will not attend the demonstration, saying he does not want it to be portrayed as political. Ibiza, he said, should decide what kind of airport it needs rather than have a plan imposed from Madrid.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com