Air passenger numbers have fallen 99%

Transport minister Marc Pons says that an objective of "total confinement" to stop the spread of coronavirus has been achieved.

There is some movement, but it is extremely limited. On the final day of March there were 380 passengers at Palma's Son Sant Joan Airport compared with 60,398 last year. Of these, 142 were passengers arriving on inter-island flights (23) and on mainland/international flights. As for international flights, Monday this week was the first time there haven't been any.

At the state ports, there were 1,052 passengers compared with 18,360 last year - a 94% reduction. The majority of these passengers were drivers bringing goods to the islands.

In a videoconference on Monday with the directors of the three airports and representatives from the Enaire air navigation company, the national government's delegation, the Balearic Ports Authority, and harbourmasters in the Balearics, Pons said that the regional government expects there will be a gradual recovery of connections to the level that they were before the coronavirus crisis. He couldn't, however, put any date on when a process of "de-confinement" might start.

When there is a start, he observed, the airports and the ports will be ready. The de-confinement, he added, is unlikely to be standard across the country. As yet, the criteria are not known.