ARCHIVED - Traffic falls by 98 per cent at Corvera airport; 28 passengers per day in February

Traffic at the Region of Murcia International Airport was just 2 per cent of the level reported last February

The utter decimation of international travel in Europe during the winter continues to have a devastating effect on the Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera, where passenger numbers have plummeted over the last year and sank to new depths in February, according to figures made public by Aena on Friday.

The number of passengers to have passed through the terminal building at the airport last month reached just 802, a fall of a barely credible 98 per cent in comparison with February 2020 - the last “normal” month before the effects of the first wave of Covid infection reached Europe. With a mere 69 flights taking off and landing during the month, an average day at Corvera in February saw just a shade over 2 flights carrying a grand total of 28.6 passengers, and it is hard to see grounds for optimism that there will be a significant upturn in activity in March.

The only flights currently taking off and landing at the airport are the weekly flights to the Canary Islands run by Binter Air, private charter flights and freight flights.

Corvera is not the only airport suffering; Alicante airport lost 95.5 per cent of its traffic in February, with not one single international flight this Thursday, and the whole of the Aena network in Spain lost nearly 87 per cent of its passengers during February.

With the vaccination program progressing slowly and no agreement having been reached regarding “health passports”, even the start of summer flight schedules in April is unlikely to see many more passengers at Corvera, given that the airport traditionally relies heavily on international rather than domestic travel, and particularly on services to and from the UK. However, Tui Fly is set to begin flights to and from Belgium and the Netherlands in April, connecting Corvera to Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Charleroi and Eindhoven, while Easyjet plan to resume their services to and from London and Bristol; March flights have already been cancelled.

In May Ryanair join the roster with flights to Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow, adding other destinations in June, while Jet2 are holding back until June or July.

There is certainly optimism for the summer months ahead, the hope being that the vaccinations programme in Spain will accelerate in the second quarter with a significant increase in the doses of the vaccine being delivered. This Thursday (March 11) the Janssen vaccine was approved for use in Europe and Spain is expecting to receive 5.5. million doses of this single dose vaccine during the second quarter.

The issue of an EU-wide covid passport is still up in the air, although the EU is planning to present its proposals next week.

The Spanish tourism minister continues to make positive noises about the determination of the Spanish government to re-open for international tourism in the coming months, although this week the health ministry has agreed to maintain all regional borders closed for the Easter holiday period, preventing Spanish nationals from holidaying around the country during this period. The hope is that the much anticipated fourth wave will not materialise after Easter if mobility is restricted, creating a much better chance that Spain will be ready to re-open for business in time for the summer season.

At the moment, travellers from within the EU and Schengen zone may travel to Spain providing they submit a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to travelling.

The ban on flights and passengers arriving by boat from the UK has been extended this week to 30th March; only those with Spanish residency or Spanish nationals returning to Spain will be admitted. This is reviewed fortnightly.

Obviously, hopes are high that by the time the British government permits the resumption of international travel that Spain may be more receptive to welcoming back British nationals, but for the moment, all we can do is keep watching for the latest developments and hoping that the news regarding the vaccination programme and the evolution of the virus, is positive.