Transfer, co-management or coordination. These are some of the words used when referring to the demand by some parties –ERC or PNB– and regional governments regarding the role of autonomous communities in the Spanish airport system. In particular, in those airports located in their territories. Aena, the airport operator in the State, is clear: no transfer, and "co-management", meaning participation in management, is an "impossible" demand. Aena, in which the State controls 51% of the share capital through Enaire, while the remaining 49% is in private hands, only opens up to deepening "coordination" with the territories. How? Through agreements like the one reached by the central and Basque governments on the airports in the Basque Country last March. All of this was recalled by Aena's own president, Maurici Lucena, this Thursday, taking advantage of the company's general shareholders' meeting, which re-elected him for another four years, extending his term until 2030 (he will have a total of 12 years as Aena's top executive).

Aena insists it will not budge on the transfer of airport management, including the management of El Prat Airport. In fact, when the expansion of the Catalan airport was announced, that issue was already shelved. The airport operator's position has remained unchanged for years, although it has opened the door to "greater coordination" with the autonomous communities and, therefore, with governments like the Generalitat (Catalan government). "The transfer of airport management would be null and void," declared Aena's president, Mauricio Lucena, this Thursday during a breakfast briefing in Madrid, an event he used to reiterate his support for the expansion of the Catalan airport. It's worth noting that in Catalonia, the possibility of a leading role for the Generalitat has always been an ambition of parties like ERC and Junts.

Of the 3.2 billion euros planned to expand El Prat airport, as announced this summer, over 1 billion would be spent in the Airport Regulation Document for the period 2027-2031 (DORA III). The rest of the investment, that is, around 2.2 billion euros, would be left for the next five-year period (2032-2036) or DORA IV, as confirmed by sources from Aena this Friday.

Aena, the state airport operator, plans an unprecedented investment of €12.88 billion between 2027 and 2031 for the Spanish airport network, of which €9.991 billion corresponds to regulated investment, as announced by the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, this Thursday. The company then notified the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). The nearly €13 billion represents a surge in investment over the past five years: for example, between 2022 and 2026, regulated investment alone will have amounted to €2.5 billion.

Airport expansion is much more than a logistical matter. All major investments project a vision for the country. When the Ebro River transfer was discussed, the focus wasn't so much on cubic meters as on the feeling of permanent neglect suffered by the country's southern regions. Now, no matter how much experts talk about long runways or transoceanic connections, the debate leaves us with the unpleasant feeling of playing the country's future with a single card.

The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and seven other Catalan business organizations have rated "very positively" theAgreement between the Generalitat (Catalan government), the Spanish government, and the state airport operator Aena to expand El Prat Airport.In a joint statement, the Chamber, the employers' association Pimec, Fira de Barcelona, ​​​​the Royal Automobile Club of Catalonia (RACC), the College of Economists of Catalonia, and the business organizations FemCat, Barcelona Global, and the Círculo de Economía have positively assessed "the project announced by the Catalan government and consider it necessary and strategic to improve intercontinental competitiveness."

The Catalan Government has used its working day this Saturday in the Vall d'en Bas to try to close ranks around the debate on the El Prat airport. In an appearance after the meeting, the spokeswoman, Patrícia Plaja, has tried to unify the voices inside the executive and has assured that the Government will not accept any proposal that "destroys" the lagoon of La Ricarda. Plaja said that it was a united message from the entire Government and that "there is consensus" when it comes to rejecting any proposal that the expansion of the airport affect this natural area.

Hectares of thick reed beds, pine forests and lush coastal vegetation that hide a lagoon and extend to touch the sea. The green mosaic of La Ricarda, a protected natural area in the Llobregat delta, survives miraculously well preserved in an enclave where it seems that everything is against it: the pressure of millions of people and road infrastructures, the activity of the port of Barcelona on one side and, on the other, and very close, the airport of El Prat, which now wants to grow again invading its wetland space.

As we approach the end of the pandemic, Aena has once again put on the table its ambitious project to expand El Prat airport, which includes a new terminal (a satellite of Terminal 1), the lengthening of the runway closest to the sea and a real estate development in front of Terminal 2. The first two elements should make it possible to increase the airport's capacity, which was very close to saturation. The economic advantages are not only quantitative, since the increase could be focused on transcontinental flights, which are the ones with the highest unsatisfied demand and the most convenient for us to develop a healthy economy, based on exports and technological start-ups. On the other hand, the lengthening of the runway would make it possible to concentrate all take-offs, which would reduce the noise currently suffered by the residents of Gavà Mar and Castelldefels.

On Good Friday, the busiest day of Easter at El Prat airport, only 230 commercial flights have been raised or landed in Barcelona. The 2021 departure operation by air has been, as expected, low key. Unlike last year - in full home lockdown and with mobility halted except for repatriation flights - the airlines have had little margin to reschedule routes, but the reality is that from Friday 26 March to Monday 5 April El Prat will only host about 2,100 operations. According to data provided by the airport manager Aena, of these flights, around 950 (45%) are domestic and the remaining 1,150 (55%) will be for international routes, mainly to European capitals.