27/03/2003 00:00
Staff Reporter
AIRLINES have asked for 11 per cent more slots at Spanish airports for the busy summer period this year than they did in 2002, Spain's airports authority AENA said yesterday. The number of slots for the summer season at Palma, which starts on Sunday (coinciding with the start of summer time throughout the European Union) shows a 14 per cent rise compared to last year. The figures could be good news for Spain's tourist industry, which accounts for some 12 per cent of the country's economy and has faced stiff competition from cheaper eastern Mediterranean destinations. Industry officials say Spain could benefit from a perception that it is a safer destination and could attract summer tourists who prefer not to travel to areas closer to the Middle East such as Turkey during the war in Iraq. The biggest rises in slots requested are found mostly in busy tourist areas.
Slots requested at the airport of Alicante on Spain's east coast are up 27 per cent and but top of the list is Girona (the Costa Brava), up by 85 per cent. Spain's National Statistics Institute said last week that hotel bookings were up 2.1 per cent for April and 1.1 per cent for May compared with the same months last year. However, the demand for slots is only provisional and is subject to change throughout the season, depending on the decisions taken by the airlines operating in Spanish airports.
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