Alicante-Elche Airport - Second Runway Abandoned, But Expansion Likely

[Carl]

https://www.informacion.es/economia/202 ... 15973.html

Google translate, minus images:

Puente rules out a second runway at Alicante-Elche airport: "It doesn't make sense"

The minister indicates that the idea has been abandoned and that what the site needs is an expansion of the terminal and new taxiways.

The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, believes that the second runway at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport "makes no sense " and has therefore celebrated that this idea "has fortunately been abandoned." He stated this in an interview with Europa Press, indicating that the Alicante airport "right now needs a terminal, taxiways, and jetways, not more runway." From the People's Party (PP), the provincial president, Toni Pérez, criticized the "chronic mistreatment" of the province by Pedro Sánchez's government, warning that they do not intend to give up on this infrastructure project.

Óscar Puente has spoken out against the Valencian regional government's demand that the Spanish government build a second runway at Alicante-Elche Airport. The regional government has argued that the runway is necessary, given that passenger traffic is projected to exceed 19.9 million annually by 2025, representing an 8.5% year-on-year increase, and to allow the airport to compete on equal footing with other airports such as Málaga.

The minister, in this regard, emphasizes that the period from 2027 to 2030 will be addressed with €13 billion in investment in Spanish airports. "In other words, we are going to increase capacity and travel comfort at all our airports," he stresses. He underscores that these are "very significant" investment projections for the next three years.

All of this comes in a context where the central government has maintained that the current runway at Alicante-Elche Airport has sufficient capacity to meet projected demand in the coming years. These statements, in fact, follow Aena's awarding of a €15.6 million contract to design the airport expansion, with the aim of increasing its capacity to at least 26 million passengers annually.

Criticisms from the PP

However, the president of the PP in the Province of Alicante, Toni Pérez, has stated that "Alicante will not give up on the second runway at the Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport, as it is a fundamental strategic project for the development and competitiveness of this province."

He stated that "from the institutions governed by the PP we reiterate the need to undertake the execution of this essential and indispensable infrastructure to guarantee the economic, social, tourist and logistical growth of the province and the entire Valencian Community," he affirmed.

“It is true that the Government has announced €13 billion from 2027 to 2031, but the truth is that, in that announcement, the regulated investments do not reach €10 billion for all of Spain's airports . They are now promising to make investments in the future that, given the airport's growth results in recent years, should already have been carried out,” Pérez explained.

“Today, in August, we receive this bad news from someone who seems to have already decided that the airport is only meant to generate profits for the State and to link its future investment in the period 2027-2031 to the approval of an increase in airport fees, which, by the way, are not only opposed by the airlines, but also by the economic studies that have been submitted by the National Securities Market Commission itself, which they must listen to even though it is not binding,” he asserted.

He also added that "with an airport that has grown by 8.5% in 2025 and that will break a new record again this 2026 with nearly 22 million passengers, neither the second runway nor the rest of the investments can be delayed any longer, actions that we will not give up on."

The president of the PP in the Province of Alicante has indicated that “in the end we see once again a lack of investment for what the people of Alicante need. Investment is not arriving, firstly because there is no general state budget, accumulating three years and currently operating with the extension of the 2023 accounts. The province of Alicante has occupied 52nd place out of 52 in investment for years and has not left that position due to the neglect and chronic mistreatment to which the governments of Pedro Sánchez have repeatedly subjected us.”

Railway

In this regard, he recalled " the Government's inability to implement the rail connection to the airport" as well as the Executive's lack of solutions to the collapse on the N-332 as it passes through Torrevieja and at several saturated points on the AP-7 and the A-31.

“Today we regret once again that the outstanding debt to this province is not only not being resolved, but is becoming increasingly larger,” Pérez concluded.