Mallorca flight cuts fail, but airport expansion opposed
Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, remains at the centre of a flight row: the Balearic Parliament rejects a bid to cut flights and passenger numbers at the islands’ airports, particularly from April to September. At its sitting in Palma on 29 September, it also votes down MÉS per Mallorca’s proposal for shorter airport operating hours. But it backs a call to halt airport expansion work and projects.
The dispute is also about how much more traffic the airports could handle. Salomé Cabrera of the People’s Party said airport operator Aena plans for two million more passengers by 2031, taking the total close to 50 million. MÉS representative Ferran Rosa linked more air connections to the growth of illegal tourism offerings.
Socialist representative Carles Bona said his party opposed more airport capacity. He proposed talks with the Spanish government on shared management of the airports, but MÉS rejected that proposal. Llorenç Córdoba, the representative for Formentera, called for a serious response to the thousands of people who had protested on Ibiza against expansion of its airport.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com