26/04/2013 00:00
TW
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STAFF REPORTER MORE than 62 million euros has been spent by Central Government on the enlargement of Module C at Palma airport to make international flight connections easier for passengers, State Transport Secretary Concepcion Gutierrez said yesterday.

Gutierrez was visiting the new hub with Balearic President, Francesc Antich; the head of the Spanish Airports Authority (AENA) Juan Ignacio Lema and Central Government delegate Ramon Socias.

The new hub which will start operating in May is just another part of the enlargement scheme which has been going on over the past two years. The 9'500 square metre extension, Lema explained, will reduce the distance between security control and the embarkation gate by half.

He also said that with the completion of the hub, Module C will have a total floor area of 55'000 square metres and a total of 33 embarkation gates (17 “finger” links direct to the aircraft and 16 for onward connection by coach to the tarmac). Lema pointed out that the architectural design of the hub has made the maximum advantage of natural light.

The restructuring of Module C, said Lema will “improve airport operations” and simultaneously allow for a more rapid turnover of baggage handling, minimising the “fuss” for passengers transferring from one flight to another.

The new hub, he claimed, will be of most support to people flying between Majorca and other Spanish and European destinations as schedules will allow for the arrival of a plane coming in from one destination and for enough time to be given to people to change onto the next plane out.

The Secretary of State for Transport highlighted the importance of the reform of Module C which now means that it will be become known amongst international airline passengers as the “Hub of the Mediterranean.” She added that it was definitely an economic advantage for large companies to operate on Majorca through Palma airport and welcomed the investment that such firms would bring to the region in terms of employment and the support they would give in helping create all-year-round tourism.

Francesc Antich thanked the Ministry for Public Works for the 800 million euros it is investing in airport infrastructure in its 2004-2012 rolling plan, saying that to a region such as the Balearics which depended so heavily on tourism, good air connections were vital.

Air Berlin has been the first airline to map out its long distance services using the Palma hub as an interconnecting point for intercontinental travellers. The airline's director for Spain, Alvaro Middelman who was also at the governmental visit yesterday, said that Palma was superior to Madrid and Barcelona in terms of flight interconnection.