Balearics bent on managing airports

A Balearic management plan for Palma airport is to be rushed through so that it can be presented to central government as soon as possible - perhaps even within the next 15 days. Yesterday the Balearic government and a group of 20 leading local businesspeople met for talks on how a management proposal cen be be drawn up and presented to the Secretary of State for Development in order to facilitate the transfer of the airport into Balearic hands, and not into the hands of a large multinational company, which the Balearic government is keen to avoid. Balearic Chief Minister, Francesc Antich, attended the meeting along with captains of local industry and the tourism sector. Emerging from the two-hour talks, Antich said that the meetings had been “very positive” and that all parties agreed to work together in drawing up the proposal for Madrid. Antich said that before people start talking of privatisation, the prospect of which the commercial sector is very concerned, “we must discuss decentralisation” so that the future of Palma airport can be designed independently of the rest of Spain. Antich explained that without the airport operating properly and meeting the specific needs of the Balearics, the islands are all but cut off from mainland Spain, and there are fears that with a multinational in charge of the airport, the needs of the local community will be ignored.