Inter-island services could be affected by flat-rate air tariff.

Inter-island services could be affected by flat-rate air tariff. | Archive

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma25/11/2016 00:00
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The proposed 30 euros flat-rate tariff for inter-island flights is a worry to ferry operators. Apeam, which is the association for maritime businesses in the Balearics, is warning that it could result in the disappearance of sea transport between the islands. It therefore wants shipping companies to be treated the same as airlines, i.e. by also having a fixed flat rate.

The association notes that the new tariff will favour a mode of transport that emits thirty times more CO2 per passenger and kilometre than a ship. In criticising the regional government's initiative, it adds that it will have a detrimental social and economic impact on the maritime sector, while it suggests that the state will end up bearing a greater cost because passengers will opt for air transport rather than sea.

The government is described as lacking sensitivity towards a form of transport that is essential for the islands, both in terms of supplies and passenger movement. The association observes that more passengers travel by ship (some two million per annum) than by plane. Half the amount of travel between Majorca and Minorca is by sea, while between Majorca and Ibiza it is more than a quarter. There are currently daily ferry routes connecting Ibiza and Palma, Alcudia and Ciutadella, and Ibiza and Formentera. In the case of the latter, the ferry is the only means of inter-island transport.