The Generalitat of Catalonia is the only actor involved in the future of Barcelona airport that has not yet finalized a proposal for its improvement. But this doesn’t mean I don’t work on it. The Territori Department has activated a group, coordinated by the president of Aeroports de Catalunya, Daniel Albalate, to shape an alternative of the Government’s own. It prioritizes the historic demand to manage El Prat from Catalonia, through a formula that allows the Generalitat to be involved.
From a technical point of view, Pere Aragonès’ Executive is looking for a way to increase the capacity of long-haul flights without adding more low-cost flights to El Prat. The option of diverting short flights to Reus and Girona to decongest Barcelona has always been on the table, but it clashes with the legislation that protects the flight rights – slots – of airlines. The proposal is not, therefore, closed, although the Government has agreed to present it to the commission of experts agreed with the PSC and the central Government. This must be activated before the end of the year.
This joint commission will have to reassess the options to promote long-haul flights – those that fly between continents. Now El Prat cannot deploy its full capacity (90 operations per hour) because it has to use the runways segregated – one for takeoff and another for landing – to minimize noise on neighboring towns, which causes congestion at peak times. and problems for some of the larger aircraft. A longer take-off runway, those in favor of expansion argue, would solve this congestion problem, but it must exceed environmental requirements.
The Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, continues to defend Aena’s proposal: extend the third runway 500 meters to the east and build a satellite terminal. “It is the best option,” she stressed yesterday during a visit to Tarragona.
The mayor of El Prat, Lluís Mijoler, from the Comuns, rejected Foment’s conclusions. “They are outdated proposals; “We are in a climate emergency,” he stated. His bet is not to expand the airport.
Environmentalists also attacked any possibility of extending El Prat. From the ZeroPort platform they demanded a broad “political debate” about aerial activity and its environmental impact before making any decision.
