ARCHIVED - Continued absence of British tourists hits Corvera airport hard

Only four flights a week at present between the Region of Murcia International Airport and Gran Canaria

The decision by the British government to maintain its ban on residents travelling abroad for all but essential purposes until at least 30^th June has come as a further blow to tourism in the Costa Cálida and the Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera, where activity has almost ground to a complete halt since the start of the third wave of coronavirus contagion late last year.

During February there were just 69 flights at Corvera including both arrivals and departures, and on average only 28 passengers per day passed through the terminal building. There had been hopes that during the spring activity might pick up, with flights resuming to and from the UK and other countries in northern Europe, but with the airport of Murcia historically being extremely dependent on services to and from Britain the latest decision by Boris Johnson’s government will inevitably hit Corvera even harder than other Spanish airports.

Although it appears deserted most of the time, the airport is still ticking over as the Binter services to and from the Canary Islands are still operative, but the prospects of a resumption of anything resembling normal conditions appear bleak. This is doubly so because not only are there no flights between the Costa Cálida and the UK at the moment, in addition Ryanair and other airlines are re-designing their reduced schedules to direct operational flights to the nearby airport of Alicante-Elche.

In effect then, it appears that the Region of Murcia International Airport will remain largely dormant at least until July, and this represents a major blow not just for the airport itself but also for ancillary companies serving British tourists. It had been announced that flights to and from Germany and Belgium would resume around Easter but the developments in the pandemic elsewhere in Europe have put paid to such ideas and in consequence the only flights listed on departures and arrivals boards are those travelling to and from Gran Canaria on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

In this scenario, just two years after it opened, speculation regarding the future of the airport is inevitable. Aena report that the asset value of the facility fell by over 45 million euros last year and it now seems certain to continue making losses for at least the first half of 2021: staff are still employed and maintenance and servicing cannot be neglected.

Neither is Aena the only sufferer in financial terms: the regional government bore 2.6 million euros’ worth of losses during the first two months of the pandemic emergency last year, and the terms of the 25-year management concession to Aena are currently being re-negotiated in such a way that the fixed annual tariff paid to the government is likely to be waived in favour of a variable amount based on passenger numbers.

While Corvera awaits the resumption of international travel, flights remain conspicuous by their absence. The Easyjet route to and from Gatwick failed to re-start on 13^th March and the Bristol connection which was due to resume this Sunday is once again on hold. Tui have postponed plans to re-introduce Antwerp services on 30^th March and no positive news is expected from Ryanair until at least May: the low-cost giant has announced a total of 582 routes for the summer but is not expected to return to the Region of Murcia at least until May.

Meanwhile, the Spanish government continues to face harsh criticism for allowing international tourists into the country while banning residents from travelling from one region to another. The lack of coordination among national governments, the EU and regional governments was further illustrated earlier this week when it was announced that Spain would be lifting the ban on arrivals from the UK as of next Monday, shortly before it emerged that any Briton daring to travel abroad before the end of June will continue to face fines of 5,000 pounds.