The Government contradicts Aena and states that the airport has been expanded

PalmThe First Vice President, Government Spokesperson, and Minister of Finance, Antoni Costa, accused the Spanish government on Tuesday of categorically refusing to accept joint airport management to regulate tourist flows. He also noted, contrary to the claims of Aena, the company that manages the airport, that "if you look at the airport, on the right-hand side, there appears to be some expansion."

Costa, the company, also emphasized that it "depends" on the Spanish government and the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), and warned that Son Sant Joan Airport will progressively increase its passenger numbers to reach 35 million by 2031. This forecast, he said, will lead to an increase in air traffic, and he defended the Balearic Government's approach to addressing congestion and pressure, stating that it is focused on reducing seasonality. He also questioned the possibility of increased airport fees. The Government, he stressed, will continue with "tourism restraint," especially during peak season. "After a year of growth in tourism volume, we managed to contain it in 2025," he said, although he admitted that the number of arrivals continues to grow. Nevertheless, he maintained that the increase was "0.7% in peak season and 1.7% for the year as a whole," thus progressing towards reducing seasonality. Costa made these statements in response to a question from the spokesperson for MÁS, Lluís Apesteguia, who insisted that tourism is not being contained while it continues to grow. "We have a sick economy because it is based on a monoculture," he lamented. 677,622 German visitors between November and March

Costa made these statements in parallel with the presentation given by President Marga Prohens at the ITB Berlin tourism fair. In her talk, she defended the "real" reduction of seasonality in tourism. During her presentation, she provided data on German tourism. Between November and March, 677,622 German citizens visited the Canary Islands, 13.3% more than the previous year and 33.5% more than two years ago. This data, she said, supports the government's strategy of reducing seasonality.

In turn, the Minister of Tourism, Jaume Bauzá, explained that 150 beaches have been equipped with sensors to obtain real-time information on their occupancy level and the state of the sea, with the aim of better distributing tourist flows.