The Spanish island of Mallorca, popular with British tourists, has said they want to ban certain flights and reduce the total number arriving at airports as the island is on the brink of “collapse” due to tourist numbers.
On May 20, Ferran Rosa – of opposition party Més – insisted that the citizens of the Balearic Islands have the right to a decent life and, therefore, there must be a reduction in the number of flights arriving at the archipelago’s airports.
“Mallorca is no longer overcrowded, Mallorca is experiencing collapse,” insisted Rosa, calling for an “urgent” reduction – one of the main measures for decreasing tourist numbers.
“You cannot have airports that, year after year, break records.”
Rosa went on to attack the airports authority – Aena – for exclusively thinking about dividends: “Twenty percent of its profits come from the Balearic airports. Enough is enough.”
Més then presented a motion in the Balearic parliament to urge the Spanish government to reduce the number of flights and put an end to private flights. The party also wants Madrid to halt expansion projects at the islands’ airports.
They urged the Balearic government to enter negotiations with the national government for regional participation in the management of the airports and the five state ports. “Having the keys to the entrance and exit doors of our house is essential.”
Where Aena is concerned, Més wants the Spanish government to reverse privatisation. The government’s share is currently 51 percent. The 49 percent private shareholding would make regional government involvement in managing the airports very difficult if not impossible, the government said. For at least 25 years, governments of both right and left in the Balearics have advocated such an involvement.
The motion failed, however, with Maria Jose Verdu, an MP for the right-wing Vox party, saying that the measures would have “a catastrophic effect” on the local economy, with 30 percent of the islands’ GDP coming from tourism.
“Tourism represents a fundamental part of our economy, generating thousands of jobs and revenue for our islands,” said Verdu.