SPAIN’S Transport Minister, Oscar Puente, has rejected calls for a second runway at Alicante-Elche airport and believes that a new second terminal can deal with rising passenger numbers.
Puente said that a second terminal will help the airport to cope with 26 million passengers per year, as opposed to the current number of 16 million.
“Alicante’s infrastructure is far from its potential, not because it has one runway, but because it has other growth possibilities,” he added.
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He stated that ‘airlines do not want’ a second runway, but if one was needed, ‘it would be built’.
Local politicians and business groups have been campaigning for a second runway, as a necessity.
The Alicante Chamber of Commerce published an economic impact study report on Wednesday on the pros and cons of having a second runway.
Chamber president, Carlos Baño, said: “There will be airlines that will have to stop flying to Alicante because they will not have a runway.”
He claimed that carriers would be ‘forced to look elsewhere’ due to saturation caused by a lack of a second runway.
Baño also suggested that nearly 15,000 jobs would be lost or not created over the next six years if the runway is not built.
Valencian President, Carlos Mazon said. “The evidence shows that the need for this is conclusive”.
Airport operator Aena will advertise a tender to expand Alicante-Elche airport towards the end of the year with a €600 million budget, following an April announcement of extra investment.
“We will provide a terminal, more routes, and more capacity which will allow operations to grow,” Transport Minister, Oscar Puente said.
Puente also pointed out that London-Gatwick airport serves 35 million passengers each year with a single runway.
