Son Bonet will host the new air traffic control center for the Balearic Islands with an investment of 81 million

PalmThe Council of Ministers has authorized this Tuesday the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility to tender, through Enaire, the relocation of the headquarters of the Balearic Regional Air Navigation Directorate, including the construction of the Balearic Air Traffic Control Center, on land at the Son Bonet aerodrome, in Marratxí.

aerodrome of Son Bonet, in Marratxí.

The state air navigation manager will tender the construction project through an open procedure for an amount of 81.4 million euros and an execution period of 32 months, as indicated in a statement by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.

This project will occupy a significant part of the Son Bonet lands, a fact that greatly concerns the residents of the area, and mainly the members of the Pulmó Verd Platform, who have reiterated their indignation at AENA's intention to also promote a solar park in the area. The neighborhood collective considers that these projects "consolidate a model of airport expansion incompatible with environmental preservation and the quality of life of residents". The platform denounces that initiatives such as the future air navigation center, the expansion of aircraft aprons or the associated energy facilities imply more aeronautical activity, "more noise and more urban pressure on one of the last large open areas between Palma and Marratxí", they have said in recent weeks. Residents warn that these projects would definitively transform Son Bonet into a logistical and technical space linked to aviation, distancing it from any social or community use.

The new headquarters of Enaire's Regional Directorate in the Balearic Islands will allow the relocation of the Air Traffic Control Center, which is currently located at Palma airport, to the new site. In this way, the current plot of Palma airport is freed up for the work that Aena is carrying out as part of its reform and improvement plans at the airport.

The relocation project will allow Enaire to expand and modernize its Control Center in the Balearic Islands to equip it with the most advanced air navigation technology and to have a new contingency room physically separated from the current facilities, with the aim of increasing the resilience of the services it provides to all aircraft arriving and departing from the entire Balearic archipelago, reinforcing the redundancy and safety of the system.

The new location will allow for "more efficient technological adaptation as part of Enaire's 2030 Strategic Plan," the note states.

The technological and operational improvement of Enaire's facilities in the Balearic Islands will ensure "higher efficiency in air traffic management in this autonomous community to optimize environmental sustainability."

The chosen location for the new Balearic Control Center, in coordination with Aena, will allow for the development of construction works on an independent plot within the Son Bonet aerodrome, without interference with current operations, thus ensuring a safe, efficient, and planned operational transition.

Four models

The new headquarters of Enaire's Air Navigation Regional Directorate in the Balearic Islands will be comprised of four constructive modules, each with a specific functional character. Firstly, the Main Building (Air Traffic Control Center and offices) with the center's operational core, intended for real-time air traffic control. Offices that complement operational use will also be located in this module.

The second is the Training, Simulation, and Contingencies Center, with complementary support infrastructure, designed to guarantee operational continuity in the event of contingencies; it will also serve as a simulation and training center.

At the same time, two secondary modules for Support Systems and Access Control are planned.

Flight Plan 2030

The relocation and construction of the Balearic Control Center is one of the pillars of Enaire's new strategic plan, the so-called Flight Plan 2030, and represents a strategic modernization opportunity, aligned with the objectives of growth, efficiency, and improvement of the national air navigation system. In fact, it is conceived as a key facility for the management of the airspace of the Mediterranean arc, with guarantees of continuous operation adaptable to future challenges.

The construction project includes actions and measures to "promote and strengthen environmental sustainability, boost its landscape integration and water saving, as well as heritage conservation".

In fact, the new Control Center will be built with materials and designs aligned with environmental requirements and architectural integration into the environment. 35% of its surface will be green spaces and parking lots.

In socioeconomic terms, the project will contribute to strengthening the local and regional economy, with permanent positive effects on employment and business activity.

Resource optimization

Enaire, as explained, opted to move its Regional Directorate headquarters to the Balearic Islands, including the Control Center, after a detailed analysis of different options in which the optimization of public resources and its infrastructures prevailed. In fact, the need to have efficient direct access for the Control Center's own and support services in Palma necessitated significant investments that, in the long term, could have resulted in inefficiencies due to a lack of space on the current plot, within an airport complex that is undergoing a reform and improvement project.

The analysis of the different scenarios favored the option of relocating to Son Bonet aerodrome as the most efficient, sustainable, and future-oriented alternative for the services that Enaire provides in the airspace of the Balearic archipelago.