The Confederation Left Group in the Senate, which includes Eivissa i Formentera al Senat, has presented a motion to strengthen the participation of the regional governments of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands in the management of the airports located in their territories.
The initiative will be debated on May 26 at 11:00 AM within the Mixed Commission on Insularity, where the role that both regional executives should have in decisions regarding their airport infrastructures will be addressed.
In the explanatory statement, the proponents emphasize that air connectivity is a key factor in ensuring the real equality of residents in island and outermost territories. They recall that, in communities like the Balearic Islands, air transport "does not represent a mere economic or tourist infrastructure, but an indispensable condition for the exercise of fundamental rights related to mobility, access to public services, territorial cohesion, and economic and social development."
The Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands, approved by Organic Law 1/2007, establishes in its article 32.15 the right of the autonomous community to intervene in the management of state airports and ports of general interest located within its territorial scope, in accordance with what is established in state regulations.
However, despite the time elapsed since the entry into force of the statutes of autonomy of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, the provisions that contemplate this autonomous participation have not yet been effectively materialized.
In the motion, the parties recall that "decisions adopted by Aena and other bodies of the state airport system have a direct impact on the daily lives of millions of citizens in both archipelagos. The setting of airport fees, investment planning, infrastructure management, route policy, or operational decisions uniquely affect territories that structurally depend on air transport. It is particularly worrying that strategic decisions of enormous territorial significance can be made without real institutional participation mechanisms from the affected Autonomous Communities."
For this reason, they conclude that "it is necessary for the Government to decisively promote the effective compliance with the statutes of autonomy of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, guaranteeing the real participation of both Autonomous Communities in the management of the airports located in their territories".