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Date Published: 21/04/2023

Murcia tourism bosses slam non-existent Corvera airport transport links

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Various associations have logged complaints with the Regional Ministry for the lack of buses and taxis available at the airport

Murcia tourism bosses slam non-existent Corvera airport transport links

Transport links from Corvera Airport – both public and private – are insufficient and poorly managed, according to official tourist bosses in the Region of Murcia.

The companies that make up the Commission of Tourism and the Regional Confederation of Business Organisations of Cartagena (COEC) have complained to Murcia’s Councillor for Presidency, Tourism, Culture, Youth, Sports and Spokesman, Marcos Ortuño, and the Councillor for the Environment, Mar Menor, Universities and Research, Juan Andrés Vázquez, that the lack of public transport, such as buses and trains, and the limitations of private transport, such as taxis and ridehailing, are leaving passengers stranded at Murcia International Airport after they get off their flights.

For their part, the Association of Hoteliers of the Costa Cálida (Hostetur) said the issue meant Murcia’s airport was losing out to rivals such as Alicante, as the post-flight transport links from there to coastal areas of the Region of Murcia are actually better.

“We need to reach the best possible system, which benefits not only the client, but also the business owners of tourist accommodation, tour operators and travel agencies,” explained Dionisio García, spokesman for Hostetur, to Spanish press.

“A tourist who arrives at Corvera will see that they are landing in a very comfortable and new airport, but with very poorly transport connections. If they then have to wait a long time to catch a bus, transfer or taxi, the next time they will choose another airport that does have all these alternatives and which, moreover, are cheaper.”

Buses to and from the airport are seasonal, and all but disappear during the low months. The taxi rank at the airport, meanwhile, corresponds to the local municipality of Murcia city, prompting Taxi Associations of the Region of Murcia to ask for it to become a joint service area, in which taxis from other municipalities could coexist.

“If it is an international airport, the Region of Murcia belongs to everyone,” they stated, adding that there should be a consensus on the number of taxis needed based on “when the peak days are and what flights are coming in, to know if they are going to use [the taxi service] or not.”

Read also: Full list of summer 2023 flight destinations from Murcia Airport

For now, it seems that neither Murcia City Council, nor the Regional Ministry, nor the airport management company AENA have coordinated their efforts at all.

However, the Regional Ministry have insisted that the airport is currently in a “reactivation phase” after the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, and any improvements and changes they make are driven by new national and international routes at the airport.

The Regional Ministry of Development and the Institute of Tourism are said to currently be studying the most appropriate transport system to serve regional tourist destinations.

In the meantime, the usage figures of the number of passengers choosing to fly through the airport have stagnated, increasing just 4.3% on last year and still 40% below the 2019 figures, before the Covid restrictions came into place.

Alicante airport, meanwhile, goes from strength to strength post-pandemic, logging three months in a row of record passenger numbers.