ARCHIVED - Regional Minister says first plane will land at Corvera airport in June or July.

The Regional Minister for public works gave an interview to the press this week.

According to Antonio Sevilla, the Regional Minister for Obras Públicas y Ordenación del Territorio, ( public works and infrastructure) his government department expects the first plane to land at Corvera airport at the end of June or the beginning of July.

His comments were made during an interview given to one of the Spanish press agencies, and although virtually all of the interview was old news, there were one or two new comments made, which seem to indicate progress is being made towards opening the new airport this summer.

In the light of his optimism that full flight schedules can begin once the preliminary testing runs have been made, various companies have already visited the new airport with a view to beginning operations there in November, and some of them have even expressed to the regional government their firm intention to use the airport as soon as it becomes fully operational.

This is the case of Air Berlin, Jet2, Vueling, Easyjet and Ryanair, who are pleased with the convenience of the airport and satisfied that it meets their requirements, and negotiations with these airlines are progressing well.

Recently Pedro Cruz, Regional minister for tourism, mentioned that negotiations were underway with Ryanair, although did admit that they were tough going, trying to secure a deal which will guarantee increases in passenger traffic on the volumes passing through San Javier.

Sr Sevilla also says that the airport tariffs will be "competitive", and will be pitched with the possibility of competing with Alicante airport in mind. The idea is that the tariffs will immediately position the airport in the international market, creating an attractive offer with good service.

Asked about the procedures remaining to be completed before the airport is opened, Sr Sevilla says that the administrative management is working "intensely" to obtain all the necessary certificates and authorizations. He says that the connections of the airport need to be as good as possible, and for this purpose it is essential to define the future limits of Murcias air space after the new airport is opened.

He is optimistic that the expected opening date can be achieved, although he recognizes that if difficulties are encountered then there would inevitably be delays.

Asked about the implications for Corvera of the new airport management model announced on Monday by central government, which will allow for the possibility of accepting private capital in the future, Sr Sevilla pointed out that at the moment Aena has no shares in Corvera airport. However, he said, if in the future it does acquire shares, the management of the airport would be influenced by any decisions taken by Aenas administration.

The result of negotiations with Aena are keenly awaited by Aena personnel, who are hoping to be transferred to Corvera if the deal signed between the regional administration and Aena to totally transfer operations goes ahead as expected.

No information has been made public as to whether an arrangement has actually been reached to compensate Aena for the money spent, and still being spent, making improvements at San Javier, including the construction of a second runway.