BarcelonaOnce the light is on, Green light for the expansion of El Prat airport Doubts arise that perhaps should have been resolved earlier. And not all of them are green, that is, environmental, which are undoubtedly also essential. The first has to do with governance. Who will manage this facility? Shouldn't economic and social stakeholders be involved in some way? And to know exactly what we're talking about, shouldn't the manager, Aena, provide financial data on each of the airports, starting with the one in the Catalan capital?
The second question has to do with wondering whether an expansion of the current facilities is really necessary or whether the Reus and Girona airports could be used as complements, although for that reason investment would have to be made in convenient and rapid interconnections between the different airports. And all of this always keeping in mind that it's necessary to increase intercontinental connections, especially with Japan, China, and India.
And the third question is very pragmatic and consists of asking ourselves: What purpose should all this serve? Is it to increase the arrival of low-cost airlines so more tourists come to celebrate bachelor parties or spend nights partying with alcohol cheaper than in their home countries? Or to have more and better connections to facilitate business travel and commercial and industrial relations? Ultimately, what we must avoid is a fate like Lyon, France's second-largest city, which has just built a larger and more modern airport but is falling victim to a hub-and-spoke model of intercontinental flights that all pass through Paris. Perhaps before laying the first stone, we should opt for a German-style model in which the pie between continents is shared between Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Berlin. Now, of course, they have a flag carrier, Lufthansa, that's making a bet. We don't have one here, for now.
