This amendment is said to contemplate the expropriation of hotels, homes, beach bars and beach clubs in exchange for granting owners use of these properties for thirty years, with a possible extension of thirty more years.
A Spanish national daily, El Economista, quotes a leading lawyer, Ernesto García-Trevijano Garnica, who explains that the state may determine where an encroaching sea has altered existing demarcation. In other words, what was previously not classified as public maritime domain would be reclassified as being this domain, meaning the property of the state.
Legal challenges would be inevitable, but he says that there would be limited chance of winning an appeal because of technical reasons to justify protection as public domain.
The granting of a concession for a defined number of years would mean owners being unable to do anything with properties, e.g. renovation, unless there is permission from the Spanish government.
Also affected by this amendment would be 'paseos marítimos', the promenades. In certain instances, these are a state responsibility in that they come under ports authorities. This is the case in Palma and Alcudia, for example. To all intents and purposes, these are municipal land, even where any state responsibility exists, and are excluded from the general regulations regarding public maritime domain. However, a rising sea level would shift the demarcation and make them public domain.
A further aspect of the envisaged changes to regulations is a standardisation of criteria as to what can be done near to beaches. At present, town hall planning regulations determine activities and constructions.
]]>The British tourist was swept away by waves in San Esteban de Pravia. He was on holiday with his partner. Around the same time, 1pm, a woman fell into the sea in Cudillero, some seven kilometres away. She was found against some rocks, and medics spent more than an hour attempting to revive her before she passed away. A helicopter recovered the body of the British man shortly before 2pm.
According to reports from Asturias, waves were reaching ten metres. An amber alert for rough coastal conditions was active.
In Tarragona on the Mediterranean coast, a 32-year-old German man jumped into the sea in attempting to rescue a 16-year-old boy. The Guardia Civil say that the boy was with three others in the Fortí de la Reina area. It would appear that he fell into the sea accidentally. The German man and the boy were both overcome by the strong waves and drowned.
Much of mainland Spain was on alert for bad weather on Thursday. Alerts are active on Friday as well. In the Balearics, where it is windy, there are no alerts for Friday.
]]>Pretty windy, especially in the morning, and even though the breezes are southerly, they do have a bit of chill to them.
The wind is expected to pick up again by the evening, when cloudier skies are forecast ahead of a Saturday with possible showers, thunderstorms and lower temperatures. Easter Sunday continues to look as if it will be rather grey with some rain and that wind still blowing.
Forecast for Friday as of Thursday 7.30pm (UV rating 5):
* Light breeze to 11 km/h; gentle to 19; moderate to 28; fresh to 38.
Thursday summary (as of 7.30pm) - Highs of 25.2 Pollensa, 23.8 Muro, 22.9 Sa Pobla, 22.8 Arta, Capdepera, Colonia Sant Pere and Puerto Pollensa, 22.0 Palma University, 21.4 Binissalem, 21.3 Petra, Santa Maria, Son Bonet (Marratxi) and Son Servera, 21.0 Puerto Soller; Lows of 9.2 Serra Alfabia (Bunyola), 10.9 Son Torrella (Escorca), 13.8 Llucmajor, 13.9 Porreres; Gusts of 93 km/h Serra Alfabia, 90 Cabrera, 78 Banyalbufar, 76 Portocolom.
]]>There's a morbid fascination in knowing what nonsense is being sensationalised in the name of a fortnight in Magalluf (or Benidorm, or Lanzarote, etc.). Classically so, as in the indignation - as expressed in the Daily Express - of a sole holidaymaker of many years' vintage now denied the pleasures of a late afternoon happy hour binge on Punta Ballena. Conspiratorially neglecting the advance of a changing profile of tourist (and resort), here are media and tourist alike stuck in a 1970s timewarp of Judith Chalmers introducing Wish You Were Here from a Magalluf pedalo. And therefore a time when there genuinely were some horrors. Like arriving and discovering that the hotel which had been booked hadn't actually been built.
But any sensationalism was muted by a censorious Franco regime that had combined tourism and 'information' into one ministry. Which is of course no longer the case, ministerial interventions now emerging from governments who, if they do have a coherent tourism message, don't appear to have everyone on-message.
A case in point is Spain's employment minister, Yolanda Díaz. Now second deputy prime minister, her rise can be attributed, at least in part, to her having had such a high profile during the pandemic. There is also the personal ambition which drove her to further fragment the Spanish left by forming Sumar, a sort of fluffy Podemos minus a fist-raised revolutionary element with a ponytail. Reconstructed Communist as she is, Yolanda was in fact cast as something a heroine of Covid. This was all due to the ERTE furlough arrangements. Even a Spanish tourism media inclined to view the left as the devil's work had to accept that she did a pretty good job.
This said, Yolanda's Covid experience didn't get off to a great start. In spring 2020, she suggested that there would be no tourism until December that year. How could she have said such a thing in undermining a sector of such economic importance? Parts of the media, hoteliers, restaurants, the political opposition were indignant, just as they tend to always be indignant with Spanish governments (be they of the left or the right) for undervaluing tourism.
And so it is once more. The PP, in opposition as they had been in 2020, are accusing the Sánchez administration of not giving tourism the priority attention it deserves. This is largely due to Yolanda Díaz, whose proposals for early restaurant/bar closing drew the ire of PP tourism spokesperson, Agustín Almodóbar. "In her desire to gain notoriety, she has decided to use the usual tourismphobic discourse in a frivolous manner that borders on stupidity."
As this implies that she isn't completely stupid, one wonders what aspect of this discourse had avoided total stupidity. Be this as it may, as the discourse had already done the damage. The redtops on Microsoft Start were in a personalised frenzy. Not only had happy hours in Magalluf been banned, British holidaymakers (unlike those from any other nationality) were now expected to be tucked up in bed by 11pm and denied a midnight mojito (or several). It was meat and drink - almost exclusively the latter - to click-centric news websites.
The fact that this 11pm curfew has zero chance of ever becoming a reality was beside the point. But meanwhile, Yolanda was now on a roll - a gift that keeps on giving yet one, remarkably enough, who was now failing to fuel even further redtop fury. How had they missed it all? As Yolanda was also proposing a tourist tax for the whole of Spain, a ban on short-haul domestic flights and a ceiling on tourist numbers in every destination in the country.
For the Mesa del Turismo of leading businesses and figures in Spain's tourism industry, these were "arbitrary and senseless measures". "Under the pretext of caring for the conservation of the environment, what they would actually do is seriously damage the competitiveness of the tourism sector. A very serious miscalculation that would put at risk the moment of prosperity that the sector is experiencing after some very difficult years."
Goodness, some holidaymakers to be banned because there are too many of them and a tourist tax for those who are allowed in. Come on, keep up, as Yolanda is a generous source of tourism-story web traffic. Assuming, that is, that cash-strapped British holidaymakers will even get as far as having to fork out for a nationwide tourist tax. The Turespaña national tourism agency's latest report reckons that the UK economy is causing a "certain relaxation" in bookings - Mallorca included - while in the same breath suggesting that it won't because "the British do not perceive holidays as a luxury but as a necessity". "Which is why they travel regardless of their financial situation."
Another non-story, therefore, rather like Yolanda's.
]]>The mayor explains that the goats had created a danger as they were damaging dry-stone structures. This damage has been causing landslides. In addition, they were affecting crops.
The town hall called in the Balearic government's Cofib consortium for fauna recovery. Forty residents gave authorisation for Cofib personnel to enter their grounds in order to carry out the cull.
]]>Passengers were offered a list of alternative flights, mainly those closest to the one initially booked. Passengers were also given the possibility of not flying and requesting a refund.
Why was Vueling doing this? It was in order to try and minimise potential delays for passengers if there are repeats of the peak-time queues at security.
Other airlines, e.g. Air Europa and Ryanair, have meanwhile been restating advice to check-in earlier than normal - three hours ahead of flights. Air Europa has drawn attention to "the long queues at security checks".
On Wednesday, there were again lengthy queues. These were in the morning. By the afternoon, according to the Aena airports authority, the situation was normal.
Security personnel employed by Trablisa continue to insist that they have not been taking go-slow actions and blame delays on the company and airport management's lack of organisation.
]]>The mayor had given advance notice of this approach at the ITB Berlin tourism fair earlier this month. With a German audience firmly in mind, he referred to the drafting in of more police; he would be holding talks with the Spanish government's delegation in the Balearics regarding a "significant" increase in National Police reinforcements.
In highlighting a lack of security, discussions by and large have been concerned with issues only too familiar over the years, e.g. fights and the street crimes of pickpocketing and mugging. What these discussions have not highlighted is crime of an altogether different character - extortion rackets. Playa de Palma, by which one mainly means the Arenal part, has suffered from these in the past.
Hells Angels gangs have been implicated in these rackets, as is once more the case. Speaking about the violent incident at a restaurant on March 19 when a restaurant owner had his jaw broken during a confrontation with a Hells Angels gang leader, a regular German tourist, Joseph, says: "The Hells Angels want to rule the entire area. I get the feeling that this is all going to get worse. We knew it was going to happen again. We hope that a remedy is found."
Another tourist, Klaus, who has been coming to Playa de Palma for years, says: "It's unforgivable that we have to live with these people. It cannot be tolerated that an area like Arenal becomes a crime neighbourhood. I haven't had any issues with them, but I know what happens, as some friends have had a bad time with them."
Tourists themselves are therefore aware of this criminality, as of course are local businesspeople. One restaurant owner says that all restaurants are fearful. "The climate of tension is palpable. They come to a bar, eat and then don't pay. If you say anything, they threaten you. It's intolerable."
Then there are employees, such as one at the restaurant where the March 19 incident occurred. A painting fell on her head during the fight. She was cut and there was blood. She quit immediately.
The owner, who is still in hospital, feels helpless. The gang leader and one other were arrested. "The judge set them free. He didn't take their passports and preventive measures (restraining order) are minimal. This is the justice we have in Spain. What will German tourists think of the security provided by judges in this country?"
]]>Davallament (Descent from the Cross) / Procession (Selected):
Resurrection (Selected):
Pancaritats:
Pancaritats:
Carrer Nuñez de Balboa 6 Son Armadans, Palma
Carrer Mestral 4, Puerto Pollensa (behind/round the corner from Burger King)
]]>An amber alert for the south and east coasts is active until 2pm - waves possibly as high as ten metres. This will become yellow until 6pm. For the Tramuntana coast there is a yellow alert until noon.
The outlook for the next few days remains unaltered - sunny and pretty warm on Friday, rain possible from Saturday to Monday, with Easter Sunday currently having the worst forecast. It will also continue to be quite windy at times.
Forecast for Thursday as of Wednesday 8pm (UV rating 5):
* Light breeze to 11 km/h; gentle to 19; moderate to 28; fresh to 38.
Wednesday summary (as of 8pm) - Highs of 20.2 Muro, 20.0 Pollensa, 19.6 Capdepera, 19.2 Colonia Sant Pere and Puerto Pollensa, 18.9 Arta, 18.8 Sa Pobla, 18.7 Puerto Soller and Son Servera, 18.6 Banyalbufar, 18.2 Palma Port and Portocolom, 18.1 Cap Blanc (Llucmajor) and Palma University, 18.0 Salines Llevant (Campos) and Santanyi; Lows of 2.7 Serra Alfabia (Bunyola), 3.7 Son Torrella (Escorca), 5.0 Palma University, 5.9 Lluc, 6.2 Puerto Pollensa; Gusts of 85 km/h Cabrera, 79 Serra Alfabia, 67 Portocolom, 66 Puerto Soller; Rainfall of 2.7 litres per square metre Sant Elm, 2.0 Banyalbufar, 1.4 Es Capdellà and Palma University, 1.3 Serra Alfabia.
]]>This is in connection with the infamous kiss following Spain's women's team victory at last year's World Cup. The player, Jennifer Hermoso, has testified that the kiss was non-consensual. For this sexual assault, the prosecutor is demanding a one-year sentence. The other eighteen months are for the coercion of Jennifer Hermoso. This coercion refers to attempts by Luis Rubiales to get the player to issue a joint statement that the kiss had been consensual.
As well as the thirty-month sentence, the prosecutor is seeking a compensation payment to Jennifer Hermoso of 100,000 euros.
Sentences of eighteen months are also being requested for the federation's sporting director, Albert Luque, the former coach of the women's team, Jorge Vilda, and the federation's head of marketing, Rubén Rivera.
The prosecutor states that these three "were people trusted by Rubiales" who were all appointed when he was president. The summary refers to events which implicate them in the coercion.
]]>According to Robledo, tourist areas such as Cala Major and Sant Agustí are "empty". "We aren't seeing the people that we had expected."
Perhaps they are empty, but they are only two parts of Palma, where the city centre - as Robledo acknowledges - is "always full" at Easter.
The Mallorca Hoteliers Federation says that it has no evidence of cancellations, adding that the weather in Mallorca is in fact much better than on the mainland. If anyone is going to cancel, adds the federation, it would most likely be residents of Mallorca.
Another factor is said to be the number of flights, but the reduced number compared with Easter 2023 is because airlines' summer schedules don't come into effect until the beginning of April. The tourism industry in Mallorca knows this full well (or should do), as it is the same every year regardless of when Easter falls, and also knows that it is international flights that are affected. The number of domestic flights over Easter is much the same as it was last year.
]]>There are 33 brotherhoods. They depart at 7pm, so the 2023 procession had taken a whole nine hours to wend its way along the route. Goodness knows how long it used to take, as by the end of the eighteenth century (for example) there were 48 brotherhoods. This said, the route hasn’t always been the same, which was the case last year and helped to explain why it had taken so long. For 2024, there is to be a return to one of the “most traditional routes”, which will mean starting and finishing at the Church of the Annunciation (aka Església de la Sang).
I had thought that this had always been the route, but obviously not. Any alteration to the starting-point doesn’t really make sense, as the image of Christ on the cross is housed at the church. This was seemingly the issue in 2023. They had to get the image to the Cathedral and then, in effect, start the procession.
Anyway, whatever the route, suffice it to say that Crist de la Sang tops the list when it comes to the Easter processions, the first having been in 1564 - the first arranged by the Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ, that is. This brotherhood was founded in 1552 and the Chapel of La Sang followed soon after.
The brotherhoods were formed from the guilds. In Palma, this meant anything from bakers to fishermen and blacksmiths. The Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ drew members from some of the artisan class but also from those with status, such as the nobles. Pre-eminent among the brotherhoods, it was - like all of them - an entity that was created with a key purpose as a secular expression of religious acts, namely those of the Passion of Christ.
This expression, couched in terms of religious theatre and as it was by the time of the founding of the Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ, has to be considered against the religious background of the sixteenth century. This meant two things: one was the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition from 1478, i.e. the Spanish Inquisition; the other was Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation.
It was the Inquisition which was to lead to the wearing of hoods. They were based on the capirote conical-shaped hat worn by heretics condemned by the auto de fe, while the fervour for the procession was aroused by a rejection of heresy and of Luther.
There is evidence of the Easter religious theatre in Palma from the fifteenth century. This was in the form of self-flagellation by the so-called ‘disciplinantes’ - men and women who whipped their backs before images of the cross - and gave rise to a saying about all the disciplinantes (self-punishing penitents, if you like) who then required healing by the medics of the day. Wounds needed treating and disinfecting.
The self-flagellation became that much more extreme. The crudeness and severity of this violence was outlawed by Carlos III of Spain in 1777. Which so happened to be the year when Juan Díaz de la Guerra ceased to be the Bishop of Mallorca.
The reformist Carlos sought to bring order to the Church by banishing local cults. In Mallorca, there was one cult above all that needed taming - the Lullian, named after the Franciscan polymath Ramon Llull. Díaz de la Guerra, who became bishop in 1772, set about proscribing Lullism. By implication, this affected the Brotherhood and its Easter processions, as the Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ was guided by the practices of the Brotherhoods of the Vera-Cruz, the True Cross. And these brotherhoods were themselves adherents to Franciscan orthodoxy. In Mallorca, that meant Llull.
So, Díaz de la Guerra had a dual mission on behalf of the King, who had come to appreciate that all the blood-letting of the processions had become a real turn-off where the public was concerned. A different category of brotherhoods - those of Jesus the Nazarene - were altogether more popular. They only carried crosses and didn’t engage in the self-flagellation.
Why were the Brotherhoods of the Vera-Cruz so fanatical? An answer lies in the fact that Pope Paul III (1534 to 1549) had granted these brotherhoods total absolution of all their faults and sins in return for their “discipline” as penance.
Díaz de la Guerra was only partially successful. It took the ecclesiastical confiscations of the 1830s, which also removed the brotherhoods’ dependence on religious orders, to start to eliminate the “abuses” of the processions. Nowadays, the greatest penance is how long the procession might take.
]]>This office, under the direction of the foundation's president, Miquel Buades, envisages the base becoming a maintenance centre for seaplanes as well as a training centre for pilots in the Mediterranean. This would be a centre for specialised engineering and for research and development. Buades says this wouldn't mean that Puerto Pollensa becomes a centre for commercial flights.
A key aspect would be firefighting. "Countries that have the same model of firefighting seaplane - the Canadair - will have a system of mutual support. Currently, other countries cannot be helped as they do not have the same systems," Buades explains.
It is said that the foundation intends carrying out the project to create this office this year. If so, all the necessary permissions will need to be in place, e.g. the ministry of defence and Spain's Aviation Safety and Security Agency.
This is something that has been talked about for several years, and whenever there has been talk, there have been obstacles and objections. Pollensa town hall, although it has no responsibilities for the base or indeed powers for determining uses of Pollensa Bay, has been either for or against, depending on the council's political make-up.
The principal objections have been environmental, and this includes noise.
]]>Around 5.15pm on Tuesday, March 19, a vehicle pulled up outside the restaurant. The president of a Hells Angels chapter got out. He and the owner went to the restaurant's office, where an exchange started during which the owner was twice punched in the face. The demand was 10,000 euros. If not, things would end up badly.
The confrontation moved to the restaurant itself and then to the terrace. Employees became involved, as did another member of the chapter. At one point, the Hells Angels' leader produced a knife. A gold chain valued at over 7,000 euros was snatched from the owner.
The owner says: "We are very afraid. We live in fear and my wife has already suggested selling the place and leaving. The damage, apart from physical injuries, is great. The customers, the vast majority of whom are German nationals and lifelong residents, are afraid to come in case these thugs decide to come back and attack us. We all know that these extortions are very common in the area, but people are afraid to speak out and go to the National Police. You have to be brave and stand up to them. Otherwise we will live our entire lives kneeling before these gangs."
The police acted on security camera footage and all the details of what happened last week and arrested the leader and another member of the gang on Tuesday. The owner wanted a restraining order, and the court granted this in releasing the pair on charges.
]]>The wind is expected to strengthen by the evening, as there is a yellow alert from 8pm to midnight for the Tramuntana region, the south and the east - gusts up to 70 km/h. This alert is currently active until 8am on Thursday.
There are also alerts for the coasts: yellow in the south and east from midnight to 9pm and then amber until midnight Wednesday and continuing into Thursday (waves to eight metres). For the Tramuntana coast, there is a yellow alert from 6pm to midnight, also continuing into Thursday.
The wind, as previously reported, will be a factor for several days, at least until Easter Monday. The forecasts for Thursday and Friday remain as they were - sunny with some quite high temperatures in areas on Friday.
Forecast for Wednesday as of Tuesday 7pm (UV rating 4):
* Light breeze to 11 km/h; gentle to 19; moderate to 28; fresh to 38.
Tuesday summary (as of 7pm) - Highs of 19.8 Pollensa, 18.9 Muro, 18.7 Puerto Pollensa, 18.6 Portocolom, 18.5 Capdepera, 18.1 Sa Pobla, 18.0 Can Sion (Campos) and Son Servera, 17.9 Palma Port, Salines Llevant (Campos) and Santanyi, 17.7 Arta, Binissalem and Puerto Soller, 17.6 Colonia Sant Pere and Palma Airport, 17.5 Petra; Lows of 4.8 Serra Alfabia (Bunyola), 6.0 Son Torrella (Escorca), 8.5 Lluc, 8.9 Binissalem, 9.4 Sa Pobla; Rainfall of 14.3 litres per square metre Serra Alfabia, 12.0 Binissalem and Palma University, 11.8 Lluc, 9.6 Santa Maria.
]]>In respect of scooters, subject to the ordinance having been introduced in time, owners will be obliged to have civil liability insurance as from this June. On roads where electric scooters are permitted, the minimum age will be 15. Reflective vests will be mandatory and the use of phones and headphones while riding will be prohibited. The maximum fine will be 1,500 euros.
A higher maximum - 3,000 euros - will apply to graffiti and to spitting, urinating and defecating in any public space; to street drinking; and to illegal street gambling, such as the three-card trick. This same maximum will also apply to the posting of publicity, if this covers traffic signs or is on heritage properties; the maximum will otherwise be 1,500 euros. In the case of minors who commit graffiti vandalism, the mayor explained that parents will be held responsible and will have to ensure payment of penalties and meet the cost of removal by the town hall.
There is to be amendment to the bylaw regarding dress, or rather the state of undress. This has Playa de Palma in mind, as it is already an offence to not wear tops when on the streets in the city. In Playa de Palma this is permitted, but the new ordinance will make it an offence. A maximum fine wasn't specified.
Martínez added that the town hall is also looking at new regulations for motorhomes, caravans and camper vans. "These are causing problems in various neighbourhoods and we will have to see how we can deal with these."
The mayor said that current ordinance is "too lax". Tougher sanctions are needed to tackle behaviour that "disturbs coexistence and in order to correct anti-social attitudes".
The new ordinance will be open to public consultation prior to its anticipated approval by the end of May, when aspects of it will be known in greater detail. One of these will have to do with dog mess.
]]>Through Fondviso, Solventis is planning to invest 100 million euros in building 600 affordable homes to rent in the Balearics.
This initiative could contribute to the scheme proposed by the Balearic housing ministry for municipalities to cede land for building public housing for affordable rental. As with other schemes that the ministry has for addressing the lack of affordable homes, this would entail the use of private investment; the government wouldn't pay for any of it.
Under the Solventis model, this would be the case, except for a fixed annual fee to be paid to the fund for having put up the investment. The government would manage the rentals and assume costs of maintenance and any risks, e.g. possible non-payment of rents by tenants. After thirty years, the buildings would become public property.
Not all the rental income would go to the government. This is where the fund would make its main return - a percentage of this income. For tenants, so it is said, the benefit would be rents that are some 30% lower than on average.
Toni Bosch, director of alternative real estate investments at Solventis, says: "Access to rental housing in the Balearics requires a financial effort 30% higher than the Spanish average, taking into account that the average income per household is similar." He believes that the Balearic government could be in a position to "quintuple the development capacity of the affordable housing stock" through this type of investment arrangement.
]]>Damià Gomis, professor of earth physics and director of the Interdisciplinary Laboratory on Climate Change at the University of the Balearic Islands, spoke recently about rising sea levels and temperatures. "The current trend is scary. There has already been an average increase of more than one degree. Between the last century and the current one, sea level has risen more than 20 centimetres in the Balearics. The current rate is three millimetres per year. If the average temperature has increased by more than two degrees by 2100, we will have reached the point of no return."
Miguel Agulles is a researcher at the Imedea Mediterranean Institute of Advanced Studies. He earned a doctorate at the university with his thesis regarding coastal threats posed by climate change. He considered the specific case of the Balearics and the role that posidonia sea grass can play in reducing the impact of the flooding of beaches.
"Given an average sea level rise of 70 centimetres by the end of the century, the loss of all posidonia would mean a level of flooding of beaches of one and a half metres during storm events. Half would be attributable to the rise in sea level and the other half to the absence of posidonia.
"In the worst-case scenario, a medium-slope natural beach in the Balearics would experience about 40-45 metres of retreat as the result of an extreme event. With posidonia as it currently is, the permanent retreat of the coast would be about ten metres in average conditions, but would reach up to 23 metres in extreme conditions."
]]>The objective, that of hotels, nightlife, beach clubs, restaurants and Calvia town hall, is to lengthen the season and to therefore tackle the age-old problem of tourism seasonality.
Calvia's mayor, Juan Antonio Amengual, expressed his satisfaction with the ever earlier start to the season in Magalluf. "We are on the right path." The tourism councillor, Elisa Monserrat, pointed to an early Easter and "above all, the good tourist prospects for this year".
For the end of March, roughly 70% of hotels will be open. Mauricio Carballeda, managing director of Katmandú Park and the president of the Palmanova-Magalluf Hoteliers Association, said: "A good season is expected, at least as good as the previous one." But he did offer a warning. "Let's hope that the increase in the price of flights does not make tourists decide to spend less and negatively affect Magalluf's complementary offer (bars, nightlife, etc)."
The investment made by the complementary offer as well as by hotels was emphasised, all with the aim of providing "better quality services". And one business in the complementary sector, BCM, part of the Cursach Group, presented its 2024 programme, which will start on Wednesday (March 27).
With the goal of attracting "quality young tourism", the CEO of the Cursach Group, Miguel Pérez-Marsá, said: "The group is making a clear commitment to Calvia. We want to contribute to putting Magalluf on the map of quality nightlife. For this reason, we have two important developments in 2024 - we are extending the season and we have prepared a programme to attract residents and tourists from all over the island to Magalluf."
He added: "We are very pleased that businesses are coming together to reinforce the image of an attractive and safe Magalluf. We are striving to offer quality products that encourage young tourists to choose us as a destination for their holidays."
]]>The workers' committee adds that there is a problem at the airport due to a lack of personnel, Aena's demands regarding training and a change made by Spain's Aviation Safety and Security Agency in respect of this training. It says that solutions to the issues have been asked for since February but that there has been no response. "It is easier to blame the workers than to admit their mistakes."
The committee stresses that no illegal action has been encouraged or carried out and maintains that there has not been a go-slow. It does, however, acknowledge that overtime is not being worked. A decision was taken not to work overtime over Easter as a legal measure to put pressure on Trablisa to start negotiations on various matters.
Meanwhile, the consumers' association in the Balearics, Consubal, says that it has been receiving complaints from passengers who missed flights because of the queues at security on Friday and Sunday.
Consubal is studying the possibility of making claims, but its president, Alfonso Rodríguez, accepts that not being able to catch flights because of delays at security caused by working slowly make it difficult to lodge claims with either Aena or the company. There again, the workers' committee is now saying that there was no go-slow.
]]>Otherwise, it will be fairly windy. There are no alerts for wind, but there is a yellow for the coasts with the exception of the north and northeast. For the Tramuntana, the alert is from 4pm to 8pm; for the south and east from 6pm to midnight and continuing into Wednesday. Waves up to three metres and gusts of 60 km/h. It will be breezy for the rest of the week and at least until Easter Sunday.
Reasonable amount of sun expected on Wednesday, the main risk of any rain being early on. Thursday and Friday sunny, and very warm in areas on Friday. A chance of some rain again on Saturday and then Sunday is looking cloudy with a high probability of rain but up to 25C in the north.
Forecast for Tuesday as of Monday 7pm (UV rating 4):
* Light breeze to 11 km/h; gentle to 19; moderate to 28; fresh to 38.
Monday summary (as of 7pm) - Highs of 19.5 Cap Blanc (Llumajor), 18.8 Can Sion (Campos), 18.6 Salines Llevant (Campos), 18.4 Banyalbufar and Pollensa, 18.3 Binissalem and Palma Port, 18.2 Sant Elm, 18.1 Llucmajor, 18.0 Es Capdellà, 17.8 Puerto Soller and Santanyi; Lows of 5.7 Serra Alfabia (Bunyola), 6.5 Son Torrella (Escorca), 8.9 Lluc, 9.3 Porreres; Rainfall of 0.8 litres per square metre Petra and Porreres, 0.6 Llucmajor and Sa Pobla.
]]>Some sunny spells on Monday, but there is a high probability of rain, which Aemet expects to only be light but possibly falling as muddy rain. There is also the possibility of the odd thunderstorm.
For Tuesday, there is a yellow alert for rough seas, with the wind from the southwest intensifying. Temperatures will drop to below normal for this time in March.
The forecast for warm weather by Good Friday (up to 28C) holds good at present, but weather stations are indicating that Saturday will be cloudy with the probability of some rain.
Forecast for Monday as of Sunday 6pm (UV rating 4):
* Light breeze to 11 km/h; gentle to 19; moderate to 28.
Sunday summary (as of 6pm) - Highs of 18.8 Es Capdellà, 18.7 Sant Elm, 18.3 Palma Port, 18.1 Llucmajor, 18.0 Cap Blanc (Llumajor), 17.9 Puerto Soller, 17.6 Palma University, 17.4 Banyalbufar, 17.3 Binissalem and Palma Airport, 17.2 Porreres, 17.1 Capdepera, 17.0 Can Sion (Campos); Lows of 4.9 Son Torrella (Escorca), 5.8 Palma University, 7.3 Petra and Sa Pobla, 7.6 Lluc.
]]>They followed him and watched as he looked inside cars and then eventually took something from his jacket and forced a car door open. When they approached him, he hid the object under a seat. It was a pair of pliers.
He was arrested and appeared in court the same day. The hearing was short. After ten minutes, the court released him.
It was established that he has notched up 25 offences, thirteen of them so far this year. His speciality is breaking into cars and stealing valuables.
]]>A great deal of caution should be exercised before leaping to conclusions regarding developments since last week's raids as part of Operation Checkmate, one of the biggest drugs operations ever mounted in Mallorca. The caution is especially necessary when it comes to Palma town hall. We have, after all, been here before, as with the cases of alleged corruption - most notably that with the owner of BCM, Tolo Cursach, at its centre - and which have collapsed in a heap when put to the test in the courts.
The Guardia Civil's Judicial Police are understood to be investigating meetings involving Vox representatives in Son Banya, the shanty town often nicknamed Mallorca's drugs supermarket. What are the police actually interested in? A Vox councillor who has been specifically named because of an apparent relationship with the Balearic federation of gypsy federations - she is said to take care of the federation's administration - has said that meetings prior to the election last May were publicised. The media knew they were happening. What's the issue?
The Partido Popular mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, has himself been forced into denying that contacts with Carlos Cortés ('El Charly'), the federation's president and one of the 23 people arrested last week, were to do with capturing votes from the gypsy community. He has noted that Vox polled higher than the PP in Son Banya. Vox in fact polled highest of all the parties both in Son Banya and La Soledad, where there were raids last week.
Even so, opposition parties are unlikely to let the matter drop. A Més councillor, Miquel Àngel Contreras, has called for the case to be "thoroughly investigated at both judicial and political levels". And this was before the Judicial Police made their interest known in the meetings.
Matthias Kühn - compensation and now under investigation
Another high-profile story with a follow-on concerns German property developer Matthias Kühn. Three weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the Balearic government must pay him 96 million euros compensation in respect of the blocked development of Muleta II in Puerto Soller. He now mainly lives in Switzerland but was in Mallorca at the time of the ruling, which was when Tax Agency officials went to his home and seized computer data.
The agency, a court of instruction in Palma and the anti-corruption prosecution service are all delving into an allegation that bankruptcy proceedings related to some twenty of his companies were a manoeuvre to avoid the collection of debts owed to the agency - the reported figure is eleven or so million euros plus surcharges and interest. The prosecution service accuses Kühn of having created a complex network of shell companies and then declared them bankrupt so as to not have to pay the debts.
Waiting for a home
The realities of finding affordable housing are a world away from luxury developments in Puerto Soller - aborted or realised. And there is a further reminder of these realities from figures released by the Balearic government's housing ministry.
There are currently 4,366 people on the Ibavi housing agency's waiting list for properties to rent at prices that are no more than 30% of income - way cheaper than places offered on the free market. This number is down from 4,679 a year ago, but the decrease may not be due to people having been housed, as they are removed from the list for various reasons. Ibavi has a total of 2,362 properties to rent, while a further 424 are being built. This is a stock which is clearly insufficient to meet demand.
Opposition parties in the Balearics are warning of the "disproportionate growth" of rents because of the Partido Popular government's policies and are insisting that rent caps are applied. Under Spain's housing law, caps can be introduced for so-called "stressed areas", where average prices to rent exceed a stipulated percentage of average incomes. The whole of the Balearics should be declared a stressed area, maintain parties on the left. The government has said that it will not adopt this stressed-area principle and so therefore will not be applying rent caps.
No more air routes and no more tourism promotion
The opposition also point to disproportionate growth in terms of tourism. Reform of the tourism law and an end to the moratorium on granting new tourist accommodation places - introduced by the left-wing government as was in 2022 - will be like offering "a free bar".
Among others concerned about this growth are the environmentalists GOB. They are demanding that there be no more increases in Palma air routes. It was recently predicted that total passenger numbers (arrivals and departures) could reach 33 million this year; in pre-pandemic 2019 the total was 29.7 million. GOB insist that the government and others "stop endorsing" new routes and also stop spending public money on tourism promotion.
For GOB, therefore, news that the government and the Council of Mallorca are reviving an agreement to pay Real Mallorca for tourism promotion sponsorship will have gone down like a lead balloon. This agreement, which is worth 2.6 million euros over two seasons, is similar to one that PSOE proposed when they were in charge of the tourism department at the Council of Mallorca between 2019 and 2023. The proposal was dropped because of the enormous political row it created with PSOE's coalition partners, Més and Podemos.
Where air routes are concerned, GOB may have been less aghast at a report of an apparent Chinese invasion of Mallorca. There isn't, as there are no direct flights to and from Chinese airports; not yet, anyway. This "invasion" is due to Spain's national tourism agency Turespaña having reported that over 60% of pre-pandemic flights connecting China and Spain have been restored.
Shirts on and not lighting up
The season pretty much upon us and reports of a tourism nature are guaranteed to flow in abundance, especially if they are, shall we say, somewhat overblown. For instance, holidaymakers in Mallorca need to be aware that they could be hit with a hefty fine if they walk around the streets without tops on. The UK Foreign Office says: "In some parts of Spain it's against the law to be on the street wearing only a bikini or swimming shorts." Some parts are what matters. There is no general law, as this sort of regulation is one for town halls and is in fact applied in only isolated cases. Palma, for example, has a ban but not on the beach frontlines; this has been the situation for several years.
Then there is the apparent ban on smoking on beaches. There is no ban, as it has not been made legally enforceable. There may well come a time when it is, but for now there are so-called smoke-free beaches - fifty in all in the Balearics - where beachgoers are asked not to smoke; Playa de Muro is a new addition to the ranks. It relies on individuals' goodwill, not on law enforcement.
Who's bothered about how the tourist tax is spent?
Still in March and the tourist tax is a quarter of what it is during what is classified as the official tourism season - May to October. An increasingly less relevant classification, it has to be said, but for matters like the tourist tax it continues to be used. According to the Council of Mallorca's director-general of tourism, Josep Aloy: "We are all tourists at some point and we all like to learn about the places we visit and also know how our taxes are used."
By this, he means the tourist tax, thus avoiding a far heftier tax requirement - the payment of IVA (VAT). Aloy says that there must be "utmost transparency" in providing information to tourists about tourist tax spending. One possibility is to enable hotel guests to access the information via a QR code. Fine, but how many tourists are actually that bothered about how the tax is spent?
Closing the roads
Tourism season or winter, should there be further measures for healthier living and cutting pollution? The colleges of architects and doctors in the Balearics most certainly believe there should be. And to this end they will be asking the mayor of Palma to close the city's main roads at weekends. Cities like Barcelona and Madrid already do close some roads at weekends, and the colleges believe that reducing traffic in the centre of Palma is key to the future of the city.
Good idea perhaps, and it would mean that cruise ship passengers could walk unmolested by a weekend's vehicles. Not, of course, that cruise ships pollute.
]]>Some passengers reported having had to wait an hour to pass through security. The airport's management said that the delays were no longer than fifteen minutes and that the situation returned to normal around 11.30am.
On Friday there was a similar occurrence. The Aena airports authority and the security company, Trablisa, both denied that there was a strike by security personnel. The delays were caused by a work-to-rule, meaning that checks were being taken to the extreme.
Palm Sunday is a busy day at the airport, as it is the start of Easter week. A total of 455 flights were scheduled.
This said, there are fewer flights than usual because Easter is early this year and airlines have yet to start their summer schedules; these come into effect right at the end of March.
]]>The tourist will shortly go on trial in Palma. He is accused of reckless homicide. The Prosecutor's Office is calling for a three-year sentence and compensation of 400,000 euros to be paid to the Hermina's family.
The 48-year-old German had arrived in Mallorca with his wife and two children. He left the arrivals terminal to smoke a cigarette and then attempted to re-enter the baggage reclaim area. Hermina, who worked for the Trablisa security company, explained to him that he could not go back.
He then became aggressive and pushed her. She fell to the ground and fractured her femur. He was immediately arrested and charged with causing injury. A court later released him.
But the incident became more serious when Hermina passed away at Son Espases Hospital due to complications during surgery.
]]>In the prison in Palma he reads the local press and so is aware of developments since his arrest, and he has been speaking from the prison. "Many things are being said that I don't like, especially because they are dirtying the names of innocent people."
By implication, one of these people is Jero Mayans, a Vox councillor at Palma town hall. The Guardia Civil are said to be investigating meetings between Vox representatives and residents of the Son Banya shanty town. El Charly explains that families in Son Banya contacted him about regular power cuts. He then spoke with Jero Mayans, to tell her about these cuts and to see if she could do something. "Nothing more, that's all."
As to the report presented by the Guardia Civil, he insists that he is completely innocent. "I am innocent and I am going to prove it. I want to clear my name because everything that is being said is terrible."
The summary is very explicit and accuses him of large-scale drugs trafficking. In this regard, El Charly refers to tapped phone conversations that have been "misinterpreted". "From time to time we received a lot of food from the food bank for the most needy families - gypsies, Moroccans or whoever they were. When there was talk about pallets or oil or oranges, this wasn't speaking in code but references to the food bank. But the Guardia Civil believe it was about drugs." This might sound somewhat fantastic, but he insists that it is the truth.
Joaquín Fernández, aka 'El Prestamista', the Lender, was also arrested on March 13 but subsequently released. The Guardia summary points to El Charly's relationship with El Prestamista. Of this, he says that he asked Joaquín for money. "But it wasn't for me. It was for a third party."
One of the developments since his arrests is an allegation that he laundered money both through the gypsies' federation and a football club in Asturias, Real Avilés. Investigators have drawn attention to "a series of trips and meetings" involving the club president, Diego Baeza González, which could have been part of "a possible money laundering operation".
Sr. Baeza has not been investigated or detained. The club has issued a statement flatly denying that Real Avilés Industrial has ever been used for money laundering, referring to an agreement with the previous club president and to a purchase option of around 80,000 euros that El Charly had because of this inherited agreement.
El Charly refutes the allegation: "I have never used the gypsies' federation or the Real Avilés football club to launder money. I repeat again: I neither traffic drugs nor launder money."
The summary highlights a visit to a relative's home and the presence of a Larry Mora. El Charly says that he doesn't remember him. "I went to take some food and then I read in the report that the Guardia Civil say that this man is the contact of drugs traffickers in South America."
There are also statements from another relative maintaining that he (El Charly) had earned "millions". "It's an invention of that person, although I know that no one is going to believe me."
For him, "the whole thing is a nightmare". "I have lost more than six kilos in a few days because of how bad things are for me. I can't sleep at night, thinking about all this. It's awful."
]]>At present, it looks like some rain from Monday to Wednesday. Monday should see a fair amount of sun but with showers; Tuesday is set to be the worst day, with grey skies and a high probability of rain. Some of the rain could be muddy and there is a chance of thunderstorms.
Clearer, sunny weather forecast to return on Thursday, with temperatures rising on Good Friday to a possible high of 28C.
This is the outlook for the week at the moment, another feature being the wind. A westerly, strong at times, is forecast to blow from Tuesday to Thursday.
Forecast for Sunday as of Saturday 6.30pm (UV rating 5):
* Light breeze to 11 km/h; gentle to 19; moderate to 28.
Saturday summary (as of 6.30pm) - Highs of 24.5 Llucmajor, 24.4 Can Sion (Campos), 23.6 Salines Llevant (Campos), 23.5 Cap Blanc (Llucmajor) and Palma University, 23.4 Palma Airport, 23.1 Porreres, 22.9 Binissalem, 22.8 Son Bonet (Marratxi), 22.7 Palma Port and Puerto Soller, 22.5 Pollensa; Lows of 5.9 Son Torrella (Escorca), 6.7 Can Sion, 6.8 Lluc, 6.9 Binissalem, 7.5 Arta.
]]>At around 8.15, a resident - a retired Guardia Civil officer - saw a man lying in a parking area at the building on C. Pere Vaquer Ramis. He immediately called the emergency services. Medics could do no more than pronounce the man dead at the scene.
It would appear that he had fallen some ten metres. The Guardia are seeking to clarify if the fall was accidental.
Ángel H. was well known in the area and much liked. Before retiring, he had been a chef at the Hotel Santa Lucia in Palmanova for many years.
This fatality was only hours after an 82-year-old man lost his life when he fell at an apartment building in Cala Millor.
]]>José Antonio says: "The goats aren't to blame for the houses having eaten the mountain. But they do a lot of damage. I built a fence to stop them entering but they managed to get over it. Let's see if the town hall brings order."
Many of the owners in Son Vida are foreign. The houses are unoccupied for much of the year, so the goats become emboldened and take them over.
While José Antonio looks to deter the goats, he has been rounding up some which have occupied the grounds of properties. They've been moved to a finca in Sineu, where they can be used to control the vegetation.
]]>Twenty-nine flights for the final have been organised, and these have led to travel agencies cancelling charter flights they had hoped to offer. The reason for cancellation is not just the number of flights, it is also the price - that charged after the 75% residents' discount is factored in.
Four charter flights have been cancelled. While travel agencies have been looking to sell tickets for 400 euros, airlines have been selling at 250 euros. In reality, the price is 1,000 euros, the cost of the 75% discount being met by the Spanish government.
Two airlines which do not operate regular flights between Palma and Seville have laid on seven between them - Iberia with four and Ryanair with three. Vueling have increased their frequencies significantly.
The agencies maintain that this is unfair competition. The Civil Aviation Authority is allowing these flights to operate as if they were regular when they have been organised for a specific situation.
The secretary of state for transport, José Antonio Santano, explained earlier this week that it was not possible to extend subsidies for the residents' discount to charter flights. This would require a legal change. He also said that usual fares should apply, but they are far higher than normal.
]]>Nevertheless, unsettled weather is forecast for next week, with a high probability of rain on both Tuesday and Wednesday and some pretty fierce wind on Wednesday as well. This is the outlook as it stands at present, with an improvement on Thursday - temperatures going back up to a high of 24C.
Forecast for Saturday as of Friday 7.30pm (UV rating 4):
* Light breeze to 11 km/h; gentle to 19; moderate to 28.
Friday summary (as of 7.30pm) - Highs of 27.0 Can Sion (Campos), 26.1 Llucmajor, 26.0 Salines Llevant (Campos), 25.6 Palma Port and Palma University, 25.4 Cap Blanc (Llucmajor) and Porreres, 25.2 Binissalem and Manacor, 24.9 Son Bonet (Marratxi), 24.8 Palma Airport, 24.4 Santanyi, 24.3 Pollensa, 24.2 Arta, 24.1 Santa Maria; Lows of 6.5 Son Torrella (Escorca), 6.6 Binissalem, 7.2 Lluc, 7.4 Can Sion and Palma University.
]]>On Friday, the tourism councillor, José Marcial Rodríguez, and the director for tourism supply and quality, Clara del Moral, presented the latest information regarding inspections and sanctions since the launch of the plan against illegal supply in September last year.
Of the 650 cases, 239 have been opened since September. The rest relate to cases that were outstanding when there was a change of administration at the Council last June.
Rodríguez explained that the majority of the cases are in Palma and are mainly apartments. The renting of apartments as tourist accommodation in Palma is prohibited; there is no possibility of licensing apartments as holiday lets. The penalties can be as high as 400,000 euros.
He said that since the plan was put into effect, the average time it takes to set up an inspection has come down from 58 days to between five and eight days. His department inherited some 800 open cases from the previous administration.
During 2023, 3.48 million euros' worth of fines were collected, four times the amount in 2022. Between September and February this year, the collection more than doubled (2.35 million) compared to the same period in 2022 to 2023 (1.09 million).
The councillor estimated that there are up to 15,000 illegal tourist accommodation places in Mallorca at present. The Council is working with a geolocation company to get a more accurate figure. He also highlighted the cooperation of the likes of Airbnb and Booking.com.
"The plan we put in place in September is working and we are getting more effective in the fight against illegal supply," Rodríguez concluded.
]]>Reviure Tofla insisted then, as they continue to insist, that quarrying should cease and that the land should be restored and be included in the Tramuntana Mountains Natural Reserve.
The company with the authorisation for quarrying is Cemex, the Mexican multinational best known in Mallorca for the Lloseta cement plant.
It has now presented a revised environmental impact study, which proposes a reduction in the exploitation area to 370,247 square metres (just over 37 hectares). The company is also proposing measures to conserve a wetland and to create a protective perimeter around listed houses.
According to Cemex, the report has been prepared "to ensure the highest standards in terms of conservation and preservation of natural capital".
Reviure Tofla say that they will challenge the study.
]]>El Pablo doesn't have just one home, he has ten. Through, let's call them negotiations, he acquired adjoining properties. On Wednesday last week, the Guardia Civil were astonished to discover what was hidden from view - a luxurious development replete with a five-by-twenty-metre pool, a lift, and an underground tunnel some thirty metres long. The tunnel has escape routes. The fort is also full of security devices.
The Guardia raided the small palace as part of Operation Checkmate. El Pablo wasn't home, because he was in what has been a periodic second residence over the decades - prison. The Judicial Police aren't the only authority now aware of the extent of this secret development. So also is Palma town hall and its urban planning department.
Proceedings have been started in filing charges against El Pablo and his clan for multiple planning violations. The mayor, Jaime Martínez, has issued instructions to put an end to this total planning impunity. Town hall technical staff are at present unable to gain access; the police have sealed off the palace. But as soon as a Palma court of instruction allows access, a thorough check will be made. The technicians do, however, already have some information - images captured by a drone.
One aspect that the technicians will have to examine is the potential impact of the underground tunnel. Has it seriously endangered buildings on C. Teix and adjoining streets?
Otherwise, a big question does of course arise. How was El Pablo able to get away with this impunity? The town hall will have to find answers. Was it simply negligence? Were officials afraid of this powerful drugs clan? Or were people paid to look the other way?
]]>The airports authority Aena has reported that there will be 3,074 flights at Palma between March 22 and April 1, way down on the 5,028 from March 31 to April 10 last year. Although Easter is this year only a week earlier than in 2023, it makes all the difference in terms of flights. This is because of airlines' summer schedules, which come into effect in April.
The president of the Aviba travel agencies association, Pedro Fiol, says: "Easter has never been significant enough to add considerable numbers of flights. It has never been the trigger for air frequencies to be increased." The decisive factor is therefore whether Easter coincides with the airlines' summer season or not.
The flights aside, Frontera highlights the level of hotel opening - 71%. "We have never seen this number before. And the average occupancy rate, as of today, is 62-64%." This occupancy could well grow but will depend on the weather; the Easter forecast from the Aemet met agency isn't that great.
The federation's figures indicate that Palma currently has the highest occupancy rate - 84%. This is followed by Playa de Muro (72%), Playa de Palma (70%), Colonia Sant Jordi (65%), Palmanova-Magalluf and Pollensa both 62%, Alcudia-Can Picafort 56%, and Soller 52%. Elsewhere it is between 40 and 50%.
]]>In February 2022, Arca requested the listing of various properties in Palma and an exhaustive review of the listing catalogue as part of the process for approving the city's revised general urban plan.
The request went unheeded, the association stressing that Genova is one of Palma's districts to have suffered most from the loss of old houses like Miralmar. "We regret the unsatisfactory management of our heritage ... and urban plans that favour the replacement of the original properties and the disappearance of the trace of history. Personal interests should not triumph over the general interest."
The site on C. Rector Vives is to be redeveloped with a luxury villa, the municipal licence for this having been granted in January 2023.
Another critic of the demolition is Més councillor Neus Truyol. She is demanding an investigation into the demolition, saying that the facade of the building should have been preserved at the very least. Urban planning was her responsibility between 2019 and 2023, but the town hall couldn't refuse the licence for redevelopment of the site. However, she says a specific order for protection (POD) should have been applied which would have required the preservation of the facade.
]]>"Every day the buses are full. Many people have to stand, with the risk of falls that this entails. And we are not even yet in the high season."
The 315 line is one concern. Last summer this was for the Alcudia-Sa Pobla route. This year it will be for Muro-Sa Pobla. Another is the express bus from Alcudia to Palma. Ramis reckons that changes to this will lengthen the duration of the journey by almost 30%.
TIB accepts that the express bus will now stop three times rather than the once (in Inca) but disputes the claim that journey time will be lengthened to this extent.
The operator adds that there will be "notable improvements" on the 302 line - frequency of 20 minutes during peak hours and an extension to half past midnight to benefit hotel and restaurant workers.
]]>It is estimated that there are around 25,000 homes on this type of land that have never been legalised; some were built decades ago.
When the Partido Popular were last in power, a law was passed which enabled legalisation in exchange for a penalty payment based on the value of the works. That law was amended after there was a change of government (the PSOE-led coalition) in 2015. The legalisation process was blocked.
These properties are in a state of legal limbo. The PP's law did lead to some being demolished, but there are plenty to which the statute of limitations applies. However, as they don't appear on municipal registries as legal constructions, there cannot be applications for permissions to undertake renovation or additional work.
Essentially, therefore, the government is looking to end this limbo by issuing an amnesty. Opposition parties have responded to this by saying that they will consider lodging an appeal against the amnesty with the Constitutional Court in Madrid.
The PSOE spokesperson, Iago Negueruela, has referred to EU regulations and to a situation in Andalusia, where the regional government was forced to back down in respect of a similar measure applied to the Doñana National Park. "It is an amnesty for their own (PP supporters) and a bad example for society. It sends out a message that anyone can do what they want."
Lluís Apesteguia of Més says: "Rustic land cannot be developed. Mallorca cannot continue to be a huge plot of land for development."
Josep Castells, spokesperson for Més in Menorca, supports the idea of administrative simplification but not if it is an excuse for a planning amnesty. "It will benefit the smart ones who have broken the law."
* Rustic land doesn't necessarily relate to rural land. It means land that has not been classified for development by a town hall and can just as easily be in an urban setting. It's not impossible to build on it if certain regulations are followed, e.g. regarding the minimum size of the plot, while land classification can and does change from time to time.
]]>These Easter flights are almost 40% fewer than for the Easter period last year. Between March 31 and April 10, 2023, there were 5,028 flights.
For example, on Saturday, March 30, 267 flights are scheduled. These compare with 523 on Saturday, April 8, 2023.
Aena attributes this decrease to the fact that Easter is a week earlier this year and that flights in 2023 coincided with the start of the tourism season.
While May 1 is usually taken to be the first day of the 'official' tourism season in Mallorca, the airports authority is probably referring to airlines' summer scheduling. Although Easter Week falls in March this year, changes in schedules from winter to summer only come into effect at the end of the month. This is the case every year.
As for national flights, the number will be very similar to 2023 - 2,275 compared with 2,300 last year.
]]>