The Junta has demanded that the government reveal its long term plans for Almeria airport, in order to be able to plan their tourism strategy around the destiny of the airport.
Seville says that Almeria, Jerez, Granada and Cordoba airports are all vitally important to their regions, but that it cannot plan for the future unless Madrid reveals what it plans to do to the airports – upgrade, stagnate or close them.
Almeria airport is of special interest, as it could easily and cheaply be developed to accommodate more national flights, and charter flights from Eastern Europe, according to the Junta and the local tourism board.
“We need to face fact to define the reality of the future” said Rodriguez, Andalucian minister of tourism, in a fine example of double speech.
The move seems mainly to be designed, IMHO, to give the Junta an excuse for doing bugger all, but will no doubt go down well in the constituencies.
Quite why the Junta seems so keen on charter flights from Eastern Europe is beyond me, but it seems to be their latest bet the house strategy.
Gabriel Amat, head of the county council, and someone who looks just like Ken Livingstone, chipped in, saying that he has some exciting new plans for tourism for the province, but that the Junta is keeping him down. The Junta reply is the same, unless they know that Almeria will continue to operate, they can’t plan for the long term.
I fly between Bucharest (Romania) and Malaga every month to get to my home in Bedar Almeria, so for me Eastern Europe to Almeria would be fantastic!. That flight is full every time I get on it, and it flies 6 days a week. There is a huge Romanian population in Andalucia. So, it doesn’t surprise me that the Junta want to fly between Almeria and Eastern Europe.
I’m British by the way.