Menorca airport expansion leaves out new control tower

Menorca Airport’s expansion plan leaves out a new control tower: island leaders and aviation unions challenge Aena’s proposals on Thursday, 1 October, even as the operator plans more check-in space, gates and aircraft parking stands. Menorca Island Council president Adolfo Vilafranca says the investment must address the island’s needs, including the condition of the existing tower.

The council and unions have called for a new physical control tower for years. They are concerned about the current tower, but a replacement does not appear in Aena’s airport plan for 2027 to 2031.

In February 2023, the council unanimously urged Aena to halt the introduction of a virtual tower and build a physical one. It repeated the call in June 2024. In February 2026, it also asked for a technical and safety audit of the existing tower and a timetable for the replacement.

Aena’s plan would enlarge the check-in area and terminal, add boarding gates and passenger bridges, and increase baggage-handling capacity and aircraft parking spaces. Vilafranca questions why the airport’s capacity could grow while the tower request remains unanswered. He also points to parking for residents as a need.

The council is trying to manage visitor arrivals more evenly and is using measures to limit vehicles entering Menorca. Vilafranca says the airport plan should take that approach into account. Earlier this week, he wrote to Aena chairman and chief executive Maurici Lucena to object to the council’s exclusion from planning the airport works.

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Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com