19 Apr, 2024 @ 18:00
1 min read

Airport expansions in Spain: Both Alicante and Valencia will increase their capacity following record-breaking passenger numbers this year

Airport expansions in Spain: Both Alicante and Valencia will increase their capacity following record-breaking passenger numbers this year

ALICANTE-ELCHE and Valencia airports will be ‘expanded’ in future investments by airport operator Aena.

It’s chairman and CEO, Maurici Lucena, told a shareholders meeting in Madrid that Aena is ‘preparing very seriously’ for the increase in air traffic with an ‘appreciable increase’ in investments.

The plans will be included in its Spanish Airport Regulation Document covering the period between 2027 and 2031.

READ MORE:

Both airports have reported record traveller numbers over the first three months of 2024.

The Valencian president, Carlos Mazon, has called for a second runway at Alicante-Elche airport to cope with extra demand along with improvements at Valencia, but its not clear yet what the expansions would entail.

Lucena said that ‘we will have more details in the coming weeks and months in regard to Alicante-Elche and Valencia’.

The Transport Minister, Oscar Puente, said in March that Alicante airport ‘does not need to be expanded over the next two years’, even with the forecast of a big rise in passengers.

“It is foreseen in the current master plan and when Aena considers that it is needed, it will do so in advance,” Puente emphasised.

Two weeks ago the Ministry said it was willing to respond to the future needs of the two airports and analysis was taking place to plan what investments Aena would need.

Valencia Airport and Alicante-Elche Airport had their best ever passenger numbers last year.

Valencia registered 9.9 million travellers- up 22.6% compared to 2022.

Alicante-Elche airport clocked up 15.7 million passengers last year to beat the previous record set in 2019.

Alex Trelinski

Alex worked for 30 years for the BBC as a presenter, producer and manager. He covered a variety of areas specialising in sport, news and politics. After moving to the Costa Blanca over a decade ago, he edited a newspaper for 5 years and worked on local radio.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Story

Young expat, 27, plunges to his death after ‘trying to jump between two fourth floor windows’ on Spain’s Costa del Sol after he ‘forgot his keys’

Next Story

Protests against ‘excessive’ tourism are expected to erupt across Spain tomorrow: Malaga, Madrid, Barcelona and Granada will show support to main event on the Canary Islands

Latest from Costa Blanca

Go toTop

More From The Olive Press