Date Published: 05/08/2021
ARCHIVED - Widespread criticism of plans to expand Barcelona airport
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Ecologists hope for support from Brussels in stopping projects to expand Barajas and El Prat airports
Plans to enlarge the airport of Barcelona, which were announced by the Spanish government on Monday during a meeting with the regional government of Catalunya, have come in for widespread criticism from many quarters, including supposed allies of the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the PSOE party which he leads.
One of the most widely cited concerns is the discrepancy between the amplification of operations at Josep Tarradellas-Barcelona-El Prat airport and the need to create a more environmentally sustainable society in Spain. Juantxo López de Uralde of the Unidas Podemos party (which forms a coalition national government with the PSOE) has expressed his opposition to the project on the grounds of the impact it would have on local ecosystems in the Llobregat delta (home to migrating flamingos every year), the climate emergency and uncertainty over the future of travel in the light of the Covid pandemic.
Similar expansion plans are also envisaged at the main Barajas airport of Madrid, a decision which has provoked an angry reaction from the regional minister for Ecological Transition and the Climate Emergency in the Comunidad Valenciana. Mireia Mollà is of the opinion that while investment must be made in order to stimulate a post-pandemic economic recovery, at the same time the investment must be compatible with ecological transition. With the projects at Barcelona and Madrid airports budgeted to cost a total of 3.3 billion euros between them, she feels that the money could be better spent.
Even more tellingly, perhaps, the Mayoress of Barcelona and the Mayor of El Prat have both expressed serious reservations. Mayoress Ada Colau is sceptical over the claims that any airport development will be carried out while guaranteeing sustainability, while Lluis Mijoler, the Mayor of El Prat, is quoted in national newspaper El Diario as warning that the expansion of the airport would be “an environmental disaster”.
Many of the critics are optimistic that the plans will not prosper and that the European Commission will veto them on environmental grounds. It is projected that the plans will be finalized by Aena at some point between 2022 and 2024, and the EC is already reported to be following developments closely and preparing a stringent examination of the potential environmental impact.
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