ARCHIVED - Passenger numbers at Corvera airport reach a million for the year

Aena start paying the Murcia government as the winter schedule begins with a new route to the Canaries

This coming week sees the first flights between the Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera and the Canary Islands, with the airline Binter introducing services to and from Gran Canaria on Tuesdays and Saturdays during winter flight scheduling, and at the same time the airport has reached its initial objective for the first year in operation.

That objective was to reach a total of 1 million passengers passing through the terminal building, a figure which is around 20 per cent short of the 1.27 million who used Murcia-San Javier airport in 2018 but which has a special significance. Not only does it add an extra digit to the running total, it also means that the threshold over which the airport management company Aena has to begin paying an operating fee to the regional government of Murcia has been crossed.

In this sense, despite the number of passengers so far this year being some 120,000 lower at the end of September than the equivalent at the same point last year in San Javier, Aenea can claim a degree of success for the airport.

It seems that the cumulative total of passengers by the end of December will reach around 1.1 million, and with the fee set at a rate of 84 cents per passenger this means that the amount due to the government will be approximately 925,000 euros. However, that equates to under 0.5 per cent of the 182 million euros owed by the government in respect of a loan for which it acted as guarantor on behalf of Aeromur, the consortium which was initially awarded the construction and management contract at Corvera before it was rescinded in 2012.

Meanwhile, though, efforts continue to attract more Airlines and more flights to Corvera, with progress being made at least in respect of domestic destinations. The new service to and from Gran Canaria adds to others connecting the Costa Cálida with Palma de Mallorca, Asturias and, as of next year, Bilbao, and there are reports that Vueling could soon be adding Barcelona to the list.

However, the winter flight schedule (which lasts from 27^th October to 28^th March) starts with only 12 international destinations on the arrivals and departures boards, and some of these will cease as the winter goes on. The uninterrupted services are those between Corvera and Birmingham, Bristol, Gatwick, Southend, Stansted, Manchester, Dublin, Brussels and Antwerp, while those which will disappear shortly are the flights to and from East Midlands, Leeds-Bradford and Luton.

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