capital surprise in the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha by Emiliano García-Page when this Monday the hare jumped in the form of news: the government has thought of transforming the Ciudad Real airport into an Emergency Reception and Reference Center ( CAED) for adult immigrants who arrived in Spain through the coasts of the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Murcia, Almería or Alicante. Surprise because the regional executive was unaware that the ministry headed by Elma Saiz, from the PSOE like Page, had even already concluded an agreement with the CRIA, the company that owns the airport, to use its facilities.
The Minister of Social Protection of Castile-La Mancha, Bárbara García Torijano, immediately contacted the Secretary of State for Migration, who confirmed the plans of the government of Pedro Sánchez. ABC asked the ministry and it responded that “the relevant studies and analyzes to conclude that the project is definitively suitable. Once finalized, it will be confirmed along with the main characteristics of the center if it is definitely considered viable. Neither the Council nor the Ministry provided more information on the number of immigrants that La Mancha airport could accommodate or on possible dates.
“It is not a problem of accommodation of these people, but of overcrowding in the barracks, which is the least humanitarian and reasonable,” indicated Council sources consulted by this newspaper. In the statements collected by the agencies, they also spoke of “a Absolute nonsense and an atrocity“. Furthermore, in the opinion of the Council, the airport, located 12 kilometers from the center of Ciudad Real, “is not designed” for this purpose and “the government has better equipped facilities, such as some residences of various types in certain “Certainly much more suitable conditions.”
Although immigration policy is the exclusive responsibility of the state administration, the Commission felt particularly sorry to have been informed “by third parties”, which it considers a “very inconsiderate severe”. And above all, they recall that it is the autonomous communities which have “the obligation to guarantee health care or other types of care”. essential services“.
Coincidentally, the news was leaked a day before Castile-La Mancha holds the region’s state debate this Tuesday, where Page has the absolute majority and the opposition will tickle him further for his animosity towards Sánchez without finishing declaring war on him other than for community issues.
History of waste
Ciudad Real Airport is a story of waste. It was thought of as an alternative to Barajas, it cost more than a billion euros, the first plane took off in 2008, but it was closed three years later due to lack of demand. The business was in ruins for Caja Castilla-La Mancha (CCM), the main shareholder, which would be saved by the Bank of Spain and a hard blow for the government of José María Barreda, who handed over the Board of Directors to the PP of María Dolores de Cospedal after the 28 years followed by socialism.
After several failed auctions, CRIA bought the airport for 56.2 million in 2016 and flights resumed almost symbolically in 2019. During the pandemic, it was used to transport millions of masks from China and, at the same time, it served as a setting for the filming of commercials and films.
