The port and the airport make peace

BarcelonaAirports and ports are two infrastructures that are not usually as close as they are in Barcelona, ​​and even less so with the scale they have in the Catalan capital. This proximity has caused more than a few headaches for decades, but now it seems that a new era of understanding is beginning, with the main disagreements, such as the coexistence of container cranes with the aircraft flying above them, being ironed out.

This was emphasized by both the president of the Port of Barcelona, ​​José Alberto Carbonell, and the director of El Prat Airport, Eva Valenzuela, at a meeting organized this Monday by the Barcelona Institute of Economics (IEB) to discuss the main drivers of the Catalan economy. "This proximity is a unique strategic advantage in southern Europe," Valenzuela stated, highlighting the logistical efficiencies and intermodality achieved.

The main reason for this understanding is cruise passengers, who fill many of the intercontinental flights to the United States. "Cruise ships strengthen the airport's international connectivity. They feed these routes, make them more sustainable, and allow them to operate year-round," Valenzuela remarked. "They are a positive externality," Carbonell added, noting that the largest group of these tourists are American, representing 30 percent of the cruise passengers who pass through the city.

A view also shared by another of the day's speakers, former Minister of Economy and Knowledge Andreu Mas-Colell. "When I meet a researcher who tells me there are too many tourists, I point out that the planes flying from the United States are full of cruise ship passengers, and there are researchers in between. We won't fill planes with just researchers," Mas-Colell emphasized. "We have to adapt, and we'll have to sacrifice some things, but the benefit of tourism is very clear," he added. But it's not all about cruise ships, whose impact on the city has been strongly contested by residents; the symbiosis between the airport and the port also affects freight. "Increasingly, shipping companies are complementing maritime transport with air freight," the port president noted, adding that "having both infrastructures helps companies to complement their distribution." All of this is a commitment to increasing this freight transport that connects with the current capacity of El Prat"The expansion is important so that goods can gain weight," Carbonell argued. In fact, Aena's project The port has overcome its initial reservations, reaching an agreement between the two institutions that will allow these two engines of the economy to coexist and continue growing. Some of the points agreed upon include raising the runway by 1% to reduce the safety zone surrounding the airport, which, in the original expansion plans, would have significantly impacted the port's development.

"Both the port and airport developments are important," Valenzuela argued, calling for enhanced coordination and collaboration. However, as the port president indicated, one issue remains to be resolved: the radio communications between aircraft and the airport when they fly over the containers at the maritime terminals.