Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Friday that Spain will invest 2.4 billion euros ($2.6 billion) to expand Madrid’s airport and turn it into one of the European Union’s largest airports.
Speaking at Madrid’s tourism conference FITUR, he said the expansion would allow the airport to carry 90 million passengers a year by 2031, 28% more than current traffic, and create “thousands” of new jobs. He also said that it is possible to create
It also plans to consolidate the airport as Europe’s leading hub to Latin America and develop connections to Asia with new routes, he added.
“This is the biggest investment in Spain’s airport infrastructure in the last 10 years,” Sanchez said.
“We intend to transform Madrid Airport into one of the largest airports in the European Union and, ultimately, in the world.”
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Spain is the second most visited country in the world after France, and tourism is crucial to the country’s economy, accounting for 12.8% of gross domestic product in 2023.
The country welcomed a record number of over 84 million foreign tourists last year, and that amount is expected to increase further in 2024.
Around 60 million passengers flew through Madrid Airport last year. The facility is operated by state-owned airport operator Aena and underwent its last major expansion in 2006 with the opening of Terminal 4.
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The expansion announcement was welcomed by Spain’s leading airline Iberia, with the airport’s CEO Fernando Candela calling it “great news” and putting the airport “playing in Europe’s top sector”. He said it would be possible.
However, the Socialist Party’s junior coalition partner, the far-left Smar party, opposed the plan, saying it violated Spain’s environmental commitments.
Expanding the airport is “economically and environmentally nonsense and means a return to the model of the past,” said Iñigo Errejon, the prime minister’s parliamentary spokesperson.
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He recalled that the coalition agreement signed between the Sumal and Socialist parties included a promise to ban short-haul flights that could be replaced by rail.
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