The Plenary Session of the Alicante City Council has called on the central government, by a large majority, with the votes in favor of PP, PSOE and Vox, to undertake the construction of a second runway for the Alicante-Elche-Miguel Hernández airport. The three groups, which make up 26 of the 29 councilors in the plenary session, consider that the expansion of the aerodrome is justified by the future traffic forecast, after a year in which 15.7 million passengers have been exceeded.
The Councilor for Urban Mobility, Carlos de Juan, has defended that the expansion of the airport "is crucial to supporting the growth of the city, improving tourism and supporting the transit of professionals and businessmen." He added that, currently, this infrastructure "faces challenges due to its limited operational capacity, with only one runway."
De Juan explained that "the growing flow of travelers and the upward trend in the sector raise the need for a second runway. This would allow flights to be duplicated, reduce delays and increase operational efficiency, generating more employment, attracting investment and strengthening tourism and the job".
In 2023, the mayor recalled, the airport "has increased passenger traffic by 19.2%, reaching 15.7 million passengers, with a growth higher than that of Barajas. However, Mr. Sánchez has lacked time to announce an investment of 2,400 million euros in Barajas while in Alicante we continue waiting to receive financing and infrastructure in accordance with our population volume.
After the debate of the proposal by the municipal groups, the Plenary has agreed, with 26 votes in favor of the councilors of the PP, PSOE and Vox groups and 3 votes against of Compromís and EU-Podem, "to urge the "Government of Spain to approve the expansion of the Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport through the creation of a second take-off/landing runway, so that the city of Alicante can meet the real demand for flights."
Rafa Mas, spokesperson for Compromís, justifies the opposition of the two councilors of his group because "the second runway is not necessary, it is unsustainable and it does not solve urgent problems such as the railway connection; in addition, it would destroy the Aguamarga salt marsh and the quality of life in Urbanova, Torrellano and El Altet", the inhabited areas closest to the airport.
Along the same lines, Manolo Copé, from EU- Podemos, considers that the requested extension "has no technical, social or environmental justification."
