Air Europa

The current managers of Air Europa, which include the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), consider that the company is viable and are already working on an alternative plan for achieving the sale. | Pere Bota

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma15/12/2021 09:25
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The Government officially announced yesterday that it is committed to helping Air Europa to ensure its continuity, following the decision by Brussels not to authorise the sale of the company by the airline group IAG (Iberia). The general director of Ports and Airports, Xavier Ramis, said: "We are concerned about the loss of connectivity and we are committed to the continuity of Air Europa because it avoids monopolies on routes with the Balearic Islands". Ramis considered negative the position of the European Commission, "because it occurs in a context marked by the pandemic and the loss of competitiveness that it has caused, hence for the Government is a priority to maintain the airline in the Balearic market".

He affirmed that the Government "will help the company as much as it can to guarantee its continuity, since Air Europa is a company based in Mallorca that has always been committed to inter-island connectivity, with the Peninsula and with the European market". For the Government, the airline is viable and the objective is to help it and thus maintain the thousands of jobs at the Globalia headquarters located in Llucmajor. "We are a tourist destination and air connectivity is key, so we will support Air Europa to restart its line of work in the current situation".

The Association of Travel Agencies of the Balearic Islands (Aviba), chaired by Francesc Mulet, considers it vital that "Air Europa does not disappear, hence the competent authorities have to do everything possible to maintain its activity, especially as it is a strategic and fundamental airline for the Balearic Islands". Mulet added that everything that affects the air connectivity of the Islands "is negative, hence we must do everything possible to ensure its continuity because we have a lot at stake, both as a tourist destination and for the residents themselves". He pointed out that the fact of being an island makes a difference and that, therefore, we must defend the airlines that operate with the Islands.