The balearic Parliament rejects the project of expansion of the airport palmesano son Sant Joan

Josep Maria AguilóSEGUIRPalm of Mallorca Updated: Save Send news by mail electrónicoTu name *

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The balearic Parliament has approved on Tuesday the eight points that included a proposal not of law presented by the socialist party, United we Can and MÉS per Mallorca on the “rejection” of the expansion of the airport palmesano son Sant Joan . It should be recalled that the three parties mentioned are part of the regional Executive, who chairs the socialist Francina Armengol.

The decision taken now by the Camera autonomic assumes, in principle, a setback for being able to tackle the project of remodeling of the airport, announced earlier this year by Spanish Airports and Air Navigation (AENA). The project, in its current wording, was reviewed by the Environmental Commission of the Balearic Islands, which at the end of last June, sent to ENAIRE the mandatory environmental impact report, not binding. The cited report was contrary to any possible increase of passengers or aircraft at son Sant Joan, but open to possible improvements at the level of safety and environmental.

In any case, AENA has reiterated on several occasions its willingness to take the aforementioned remodeling of son Sant Joan of consensus with autonomous institutions, with the information that the remodeling would not increase in any case the capacity of the airport. The most important performance of the planned at this time would be an expansion of the terminal.

Criticisms of the tripartite

In the explanatory memorandum to the aforementioned proposal of the tripartite states that the overall cost of the works in palma de mallorca would be about “260 million” . It also points out that “civil society” Mallorca “has already expressed their rejection of this work unnecessary, disproportionate and not tailored to the needs of the island” . Among the voices critical of the expansion project are environmental organizations and the trade unions.

Of the eight points of the proposed law approved Tuesday, which has been a result more adjusted to it has been the first, with 31 votes in favor and 24 against . This point it says, literally, that “the Parliament of the Balearic Islands rejected the expansion of the airport of son Sant Joan, and the works of rearrangement aimed at an increase of the current capacity”. Have voted for keep the current dimensions of the aerodrome palmesano the Spanish socialist party, United we Can, MÉS per Mallorca, MONTH per Menorca and the nationalist party, center-Proposta per les Illes (PI), while they have voted against the PP, Cs, and Vox.

we should remember that palma de mallorca was the last year the third airport in Spain with the highest number of passengers , just behind the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas and the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat. In total, by 2019, the aerodrome palmesano received 29.7 million visitors , a figure that at the end of the present year will be considerably lower, for the crisis caused by the coronavirus.

Various requests

with regard to the seven remaining points of the above-mentioned motion of the tripartite, have counted with near-unanimous support on the part of the majority party of the House , with the exception of Vox, who, except at one point, in some cases, has abstained and others voted against. The only point that has enjoyed the unanimous support of all the formations of the chamber has been the seventh, in which the regional Parliament urged AENA to “to improve, jointly with the trade unions, working conditions of the employees that provide their services at the facilities of the airports of the Balearic Islands”.

In the second point of the proposition is claimed to AENA “more responsibility with the economic environment , human, and natural with which it operates”, while the third urges the central Government to promote, along with AENA and the participation of the institutions of the island, “a new Plan Director Sectorial to the airport of son Sant Joan, suitable to the current reality”. On both points, Vox has refrained, as in the fifth, in which is claimed to AENA to develop a study of load capacity of the Balearic islands “on a priority basis before proceeding with projects of work.”

The proposal, approved in the plenary session this Tuesday, also calls, in paragraph fourth, the “co-management “aviation” to “be able to influence the regulation of tourist flows”. In addition, in the point sixth is urged AENA to “open a space of dialogue” with the institutions and entities in the island “affected” by the works envisaged in palma de mallorca, while in the last point —the eighth— urged the Government to promote that AENA will present a project of reform of the airports of the Balearic islands to make them more sustainable, “with greater energy efficiency and use of renewable energies”.