06/09/2013 00:00
TW
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By Humphrey Carter

PALMA
THE opposition Partido Popular yesterday urged the Balearic government to challenge the Spanish government's decision to allow airports which handle over 30 million passengers per year to opt for the new private/public sector management scheme.

The PP's Mabel Cabrer said yesterday that the exclusion of Palma airport is a “slap in the face” for the Balearics which has been one of Europe's pioneers in airport development and tourism management.

She also said that Palma airport is not only the third busiest in Spain, but in Europe during the summer season and must be included in the new state management scheme. The current projections forecast that Palma's Son San Joan airport, which currently handles over 20 million passengers per year, will hit the 30 million mark within the next decade - hence Spanish Airport Authority AENA has approved further improvement and expansion plans for the airport.

Balearic governments, both conservative and socialist, have been discussing various Palma airport management plans for years and both sides support a public/private sector scheme involving local authorities and the business sector.

But Cabrer said yesterday that after years of promises from Madrid, the recent decision announced by the Prime Minster Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero after his first summer meeting with King Juan Carlos of Spain in Palma at the start of last month, is unacceptable and has to be challenged by the Balearic government.

The Balearic parliament yesterday announced that a special meeting is going to be called on September 16 to debate a white paper on Palma airport management and a series of measures to ease the economic burden on Palma-based airlines which are starting to feel the pressure of rising fuel costs, airport operating costs and a slight decline in passengers.

With thousands of jobs at stake in the Majorcan airline sector, the government wants to study ways of trying to reduce the number of job losses, many of which may be only temporary, this winter.