The Generalitat is discussing with Aena the expansion of Alicante-Elche airport without giving up the second runway in the medium term

Councillors Nuria Montes and Salomé Pradas demand that the Government address the railway connection with the infrastructure in order to comply with European regulations

The Regional Minister for the Environment, Water, Infrastructure and Territory, Salomé Pradas, and the Regional Minister for Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, Nuria Montes, have discussed with Aena the expansion of Alicante-Elche Airport and have informed its officials that the Generalitat has not given up on building a second runway in the medium term.

These were the statements of the two executives after the meeting they held with the top management of Aena in Madrid and the company's president, Maurici Lucena. At the meeting, the short-term roadmap to improve the capacity of Alicante airport and the terminals was presented, as well as the project planned for the infrastructure of Valencia.

Nuria Montes has indicated that this continuity meeting “has served to provide us with timely information on how the procedure for the expansion of the terminal of the Alicante airport building is going, specifically the runway area in order to be able to exceed the current number of passengers”, while “we have discussed the progress of the project to modify or expand Valencia airport, which is gaining cruising speed and will be carried out about six months later than the previous one”.

The Minister for Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism also wished to highlight that “one of the issues we have also discussed is the regulations that the European Union has just approved, which require all airports with a capacity of more than 12 million passengers to have a rail connection to the trans-European network”. In this regard, she recalled that Alicante airport “is the only one in its category that does not comply, so this connection must be put into operation in the coming years”.

Salomé Pradas stressed that “it is vital that the two expansions planned by Aena be undertaken as soon as possible” and that the studies for the expansions of both terminals be put out to tender in the short term. The objective is to have all the administrative procedures completed before 2027 in order to undertake the first expansion works in the next investment plan (DORA) covering the period 2027-2031.

For the head of Infrastructure, “it is vital that works can be undertaken in the short term so that both airports do not become saturated.” In this regard, she has insisted on the need to put an end to “the anomaly of Alicante-Elche Airport” and to address the railway connection with the infrastructure.