Aragonès proposes changing the use of the runways at Barcelona Airport in July and August

Demand a new governance model for the airport that incorporates the Generalitat

The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, proposed this Thursday to modify the operation of the Barcelona Airport runways in certain time slots in July and August to increase capacity and take on more long flights.

"The proposal is based on a change in runway operations, starting to work with independent runways in a few months of the year for long-range flights, in July and August time slots," he explained in Barcelona Tribuna, a forum promoted by the Barcelona Economic Society of Friends of the Country, the Spanish Association of Directors (AED) and La Vanguardia.

This proposal, which they will raise in the technical commission that they have open with the Government, would allow going from 78 to 90 operations per hour during these two months (12 more), the maximum allowed in the area of ​​environmental impact.

For Aragonès, Barcelona Airport must gain capacity to connect the city with the rest of the world, especially with the Pacific, but he believes that its improvement must respond to the needs of what Catalonia needs and "not to the needs of a company." like Aena, which is listed and therefore has an interest in rewarding its shareholders."

Thus, it has demanded a new governance model for Barcelona Airport that incorporates the Generalitat and that has a general vision and understands the infrastructure "as a tool at the service of the country and not as a business unit that allows a company to balance its accounts. like Aena".

"We have to put an end to the European anomaly of centralized management, we want individual and own management," he stressed.

He has also requested an investment plan for the infrastructure and for some surrounding urban areas, especially in everything related to soundproofing, an issue in which he has called on Aena to assume its responsibility.

Other issues that have been demanded have been the construction of the satellite terminal for intercontinental flights and the promotion of the airports of Girona and Reus (Tarragona) so that they have "a complementary role."

For Aragonès, it is necessary to improve connections at Barcelona Airport, prioritizing long-range flights and correcting the "excessive" weight that, in his opinion, 'low cost' and short-distance flights have, which he believes should be replaced by high-speed train routes.

PROTECTED SPACES

He has also advocated for the preservation of the protected spaces that are around the infrastructure, warning that anything that does not meet and respect the maximum environmental requirements will be "a mortgage for the country."

The president has also demanded that everything that is done does not put the activity of the Port of Barcelona at risk, making it clear that this would happen with the projects to expand the Barcelona Airport towards Ricarda.

The event was attended by the president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras; the Vice President of the Government, Laura Vilagrà; the former president of the Generalitat José Montila, the spokesman for Junts, Josep Rius; the president of Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez-Llibre; the president of Pimec, Antonio Cañete; the general secretary of the UGT of Catalonia, Camil Ros; former councilor Santi Vila and the president of Abertis, Salvador Alemany, among others.