The government of Pedro Sánchez gives the green light to the new accesses and the expansion of the parking lot of the Son Sant Joan airport in Palma, the third largest aerodrome in Spain (after Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat) which received more than 30 million travelers for the first time in 2023, at the same time as the renovation works began, which are currently still in progress.
Specifically, the Directorate of Airport and Civil Aviation Security of the National Aviation Safety Agency, gave the green light to AENA to continue processing the project for new accesses, roads and parking lots.
The resolution published in the BOE of the director of this organization, David Nieto Sepúlveda, accredits the conformity of the road, access and parking project, as well as its environmental suitability. This is a further step in the most ambitious renovation process of Mallorca airport to date, with a total investment of 550 million euros.
The works, which began in winter 2023, will last three seasons and, in addition to reconfiguring the existing space, include a reorganization of vehicle access to the airport, as well as parking lots, in order to improve the fluidity of vehicle traffic.
There will also be more boarding gates, more baggage claim belts and more check-in counters, which will increase the fluidity of their operation. It is expected that around December and January, the new (seventh) floor of the car park will come into operation, which has been built on the roof under a set of pergolas that will serve as a support for the photovoltaic panels already installed. been installed.
Another new feature of the airfield’s interior redevelopment project is a direct connection walkway between the terminal and the public parking lot, to eliminate the flow of people crossing the main arrivals road.
There are also plans to build up to 77% more buildings inside the airport complex, including possible tourist use in the form of a hotel, gradually increasing the airport from a current maximum capacity of 34 million passengers, something that environmental groups had denounced at the time.
The execution of the airport renovation works and the environmental validation of the project are taking place in full debate on the sustainability of tourism of the Balearic Islands promoted by the government which includes the short-term adoption of measures aimed at capping the main and only the Balearic industry.
In fact, last June, on the occasion ofl First Civil Society Tourism Congress in Palmainaugurated by the president Marga Prohens and which included representatives of unions, employers, institutions and environmental entities, in the final document of resolutions, reference was made up to six times to the Palmas aerodrome.
In this sense, the final proposal born from this forum opted for “a better regulation of tourist flows of entry and exit in ports and airports, using measures compatible with their state competence.
The participants therefore proposedadoption of “measures with rapid implementation and results” such as limiting opening and closing times, and others more complex to implement such as the application of the tourist saturation index. And it is for this reason that they have urged the competent authorities to “take a clear position against any enlargement or a reorganization of uses aimed at increasing its reception capacity.
Therefore, another of the conclusions of this forum which will be taken into account in the so-called Table for Sustainability is that of “review port and airport expansion and renovation projectsby adapting them to the island’s reception capacity, on the one hand, and to the 2030 environmental objectives.
