It is enough to travel these summer days through T1 of El Prat to recover the perplexity that caused the Government of the Generalitat at the time to thwart Aena’s offer to expand the airport. When as a passenger you are between queues and delays, you have the impression that the facilities are bordering on the limit. The investment of 1,700 million not only included lengthening the third runway, but also building a T1 satellite terminal. One thing and the other flew.
In the interview that ‘La Vanguardia’ published on Sunday with Maurici Lucena, the president of Aena once again put his finger on the sore spot, perhaps seeking the Government’s reaction. Nothing. Will the Catalans really disgust a millionaire again for El Prat if that is the way it is raised at a negotiating table? Lucena wondered at the same time that she warned that without the support of the Government there is nothing to do.
This time the head of the airport manager did not hit where it hurts the most. He could do it and should have done it. While in Barcelona the Aena project will be on ‘stand by’ for five years after having excluded it from the 2022-2026 budget, the parallel project for the Madrid airport will gain momentum. Then the tears will come for the loss of the Barcelona pulse in the face of the accumulation of power in Madrid.
Simplifying the paradox: Josep Tarradellas is getting too small for us and Adolfo Suárez is getting bigger. There are those who say and it is not just a metaphor that the true third court of El Prat will be in Madrid. Barcelona will, yes, have a nice provincial airport. Nice and congested, because nothing indicates that the tourist recovery will stop.
The first warning of the collapse of El Prat was for the 92 Games, when Barcelona went from two or three million passengers a year to 10 million. Then it began to be seen that an expansion would be necessary. This was not approved until 1997, with extremely saturated terminals and constant delays. And the new terminal was not inaugurated until 2009. It took twelve years to execute a project for an annual maximum of 55 million passengers, a figure that will probably be reached by 2023. Once the capacity limit is reached, they will explain to me where they are going to include the 70 million businessmen and tourists who, according to various estimates, will want to go to long-distance destinations from Barcelona in the future.
In the race to have a more international and competitive infrastructure, time is running against Barcelona. It is clear that the impact on the La Ricarda wetlands is an environmental challenge that must be addressed: their relocation should not be underestimated as an alternative, an expensive but possible option.
It is a matter of money and Aena keeps its offer on the table. Long trust me and you need the placet of Brussels, fine, but there are the intentions that Maurici Lucena expressed in the interview with this newspaper. And also Barcelona has a new mayor. Collboni is not Colau and he has already said that he wants to “unblock” the debate on the expansion of El Prat. Now the tailwind is blowing. The government is missing. One can only trust that it is not in anyone’s head to let this airport become another Rodalies in a few years.
