Parliament attempts to limit Aena by demanding airport co-management

PalmFaced with the "complete disconnect" between airport policy, which in recent years has done nothing but expand flights and facilitate the entry of tourists to the islands, and policies to contain (the term the PP uses to avoid talking about degrowth) overcrowding in the territory, MÁS por Mallorca and Más por Menorca have gotten to work. The eco-sovereignty movement will defend a bill this Tuesday in plenary session to demand that airport authority be transferred to the government. This is a way to limit Aena, the commercial company that manages them, after receiving 15.9 million visitors to 18.7 million between 2014 and 2024, according to data from the INE (National Institute of Statistics and Census). The law has the approval of the PP, at least to allow its processing, while the PSIB (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) is hesitant.

The bill aims to "transfer ownership and executive powers of the islands' airports to the community," as well as "create the Islands' Airport Authority," "determine the regime of state participation in the management and planning of the islands' airports," and regulate their planning and services. "It's time to move forward and change things," stated eco-sovereignty MP Ferran Rosa at a press conference, recalling that there have already been "around twenty" attempts to raise the issue with the state in Parliament. In fact, if approved, this bill would have to be sent to the Congress of Deputies for validation. "It's a way of co-governing and deciding together the future of the islands," he insisted.

PP spokesperson Sebastià Sagreras expressed support for the initiative, considering that Prime Minister Marga Prohens called for airport co-management every time she met with the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez. "She only sees the airport as a recording studio," he lamented. Be that as it may, last week the Spanish government's delegate to the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, stated that such co-management is not being considered for now, and said that the government's request was intended to make it seem that the Spanish government is responsible for the congestion.

In turn, the PSIB spokesperson, Iago Negueruela, insisted that the eco-sovereignty proposal calls for airport management and not co-management, which is the Socialists' commitment. Despite not clarifying his vote, he said he will not do as the PP did: "Vote yes or abstain and then do the opposite in Congress." In this regard, Rosa asked him if it is more important for the PSIB to prevent the President of Congress, Francina Armengol, from having to defend the "no" vote on the proposal from the Lower House, or to defend the interests of the Islands.

More "effectiveness"

Former Tourism Minister Celestí Alomar, one of the most active figures in calling for this transfer, as provided for in the Statute of Autonomy, believes that "having authority over the airport is not a negative, because it means everything would be managed efficiently." "As the most important gateway for the arrival of people to a country in which we operate a monoculture economy and have always been dependent, not having the ability to influence the flow has led to overcrowding," he explained. "Having control of the airport and the ports would allow us to regulate their arrivals," he insists. However, he warns that "it would be a mistake to limit arrivals to the airport without first limiting the supply placed on the market." "If the number of people entering the airport is limited and the same number of tourist spots are still available on the market, this would lead to a price war between companies," he explains. "It cannot be separate." Be that as it may, Alomar doesn't believe the transfer will ultimately be made, because airport management "is a big business for the State."

Professor of Geography at the UIB and representative of the GOB (Basque Government) in the technical report on Territorial and Urban Planning of the Mallorcan Council, Macià Blázquez, believes that the most important aspect of the initiative "is to directly propose that the airport's capacity must be reduced." "We have seen how, for thirty years, attempts have been made to regulate hotel supply, and the provision of tourist accommodation in residential buildings has been proposed—although not implemented—and yet the pressure continues to increase," he believes. "With tourist cruises, restrictions have been imposed that have then been eventually lifted." Regarding airports, he explains that in countries such as Great Britain and Germany, airport expansions have been avoided "through social mobilization." In this sense, he urges political parties to openly proclaim that the reason for wanting to manage the airport is to support "degrowth." "We must resize, for the health of our minds, planets, and society," he emphasizes.