Fly from afar
A few days ago, I had the pleasure of listening to Jordi Sargatal on TV3. The eminent naturalist, responsible for the recovery of the Empordà marshes, has had the courage to get involved, as Secretary of Ecological Transition of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), in the design and management of public policies. Responding to a question, he explained that in the not-too-distant future we will have to face a rise in sea level, but that, like the Netherlands, we will have the techniques to adapt and, in particular, to avoid losing the airport. I thought that the solution that E. Alonso, J. Coello, F. Hermosilla, G. López-Casasnovas, J. Ros, and myself have advocated—a runway on stilts in the sea—has good prospects for the future of Sargatal. His day has not yet come, but who knows if those who advocate extending the airport over the sea will be considered premature visionaries in the 22nd century.
In any case, we should celebrate President Isla's decision to promote expansion. Today, the alternative is clear: either do nothing and condemn our airport to second place in Europe, or start with the proposed plan.
The crux of the matter is that maintaining our economic dynamism requires a good competitive position in Europe. And this requires direct connections that allow long-distance flights. We are improving, but the pace of improvement is insufficient. When major international conferences or companies decide where to locate, these connections weigh heavily. The Chinese automobile company Cheri will produce in Barcelona, but—from what I've read in the press—it still doesn't know whether it will locate its headquarters in Madrid or Barcelona. Does this have anything to do with the Barcelona-China and Madrid-China connections? A few years ago, a prominent Genoese man sadly told me that American shipping companies had transferred their headquarters to Rome because there were more direct connections with the US.
In any case, an essential requirement for opting for long-distance connections is having at least one sufficiently long runway. And that's where our difficulty lies. We have a good one—the one furthest from the sea—but it's not operational because in the past we had the brilliant idea of allowing urbanization in Gavà right up to the airport. The result: the noise over Gavà has made it unviable for large aircraft covering long distances. The runway closest to the sea doesn't have this problem, but it's too short because in the past we had the brilliant idea of prioritizing environmental protection in Remolar and Ricarda. The current initiative attempts to break the dead end with delicate surgery: extending the runway at both ends—thus significantly improving the current situation—but, in order not to encroach too much on protected areas, without reaching an optimal length. It's not perfect, but it's better than doing nothing.
Three areas where the initiative could benefit from further refinement:
1. It's disturbing that one argument in favor is that the airport will be able to handle more passengers. My opinion is that the number of tourists who want to come to Barcelona has little to do with the airport's capacity. If Chinese tourists want to come, they'll fly to Barcelona directly or via Madrid. Controlling tourism won't come from controlling airport capacity. Even so, it doesn't make sense to leave Girona and Reus on the sidelines. The logical thing would be a comprehensive plan that would improve Barcelona airport for the intercontinental challenge and at the same time try to distribute passenger reception among the three airports.
2. I am convinced that the necessary European permits will be obtained if the commitments to improve the delta are credible. Given the poor experience with the previous expansion, this time it will have to act in advance. I have a lot of confidence in Sargatal, and it has told us that what is going to be done will impress us. But for domestic public opinion and for Europe, it will be better for the restoration to be done before anything else, before acting on runways, terminals, or airport cities.
3. The participation of the Generalitat in management is another important issue that the plan does not include but that will probably figure in the inevitable process of negotiations and agreements. It does not seem that participation in executive bodies is on the agenda—it will be one day—but strengthening the routes committee (which involves the Chamber of Commerce, and which has worked miracles) and formalizing some kind of advisory body should be possible.