El Prat Airport opened the 21st century with nearly 20 million passengers, and last year reached 55 million, consolidating its position as one of the largest in Europe. This milestone was possible thanks to the expansion approved in 1999 and carried out throughout the first decade of the century, which included the construction of the sea runway and Terminal 1. Now, the airport has reached its maximum capacity, and the government of President Salvador Illa has just approved the expansion proposed by Aena for six years.
At this point, we would do well to keep in mind that the phenomenal growth in traffic at El Prat Airport throughout the 21st century has fueled phenomenal economic growth in Catalonia, but it has not led to an improvement in the well-being of its citizens. To put it in figures: GDP has grown by 50%, but the average Catalan's disposable income for consumption and savings has not increased at all. What's more, if that Catalan lives in a rental in Barcelona, their disposable income has decreased by 33%. The number of tourists has increased significantly, but well-being has actually declined. It's worth noting that the same thing has happened after the massive expansions of the three Balearic airports.
There is a minority of Catalans who applaud the expansion because they identify the works with progress, just as another minority opposes it because they favor degrowth, especially if the works must take place in an environmentally sensitive area. The question the rest of us must ask ourselves is: what kind of economic growth will sustain the expansion now being proposed?
The answer is not at all trivial, not least because the previous enlargements, those of 1968 and 1992, did fuel growth that greatly benefited the majority of Catalans.
Expansion could strengthen the current trajectory, because an airport with greater capacity can carry more tourists. But growing differently requires an airport with greater capacity to handle transcontinental flights, since an economy based on the knowledge industry is an economy that needs good connections to the world, and especially to the Pacific. Therefore, the proposed expansion could lead to both: without an airport well connected to the Pacific, we won't be able to consolidate a more prosperous economy, but a larger airport could plunge us even further into impoverishing growth.
Salvador Illa likes to appear predictable, which is why he has just presented the project that was expected, a variation on Aena's original proposal. The important thing is not the specific proposal. This is one of the possible options, and all have their drawbacks. The question is whether the government promoting it has a development model for Catalonia that focuses on GDP per capita, not GDP; and the latter is only possible not if tourism stops growing, but rather decreases. Only within a broader economic plan does the expansion now proposed make sense.
