Unfavourable report on airport expansion

News desk THE Balearic environment committee has made an unfavourable report on plans to expand Palma's Son Sant Joan airport. The committee comprises representatives of nine Balearic ministries and the island councils. The environment ministry yesterday released a communique, announcing the committee's decision, which says that the central public works ministry's plans to expand the airport cannot be authorised “until the Balearic government issues a binding report on the master plan for the airport.” More than 1'000 objections to the plans have already been submitted by individuals and associations opposed to the mammoth project, which will give the airport the capacity of handling 38 million passengers by 2015. At present, it handles 20 million passengers a year. The committee said that making the airport bigger would lead to further degradation of the environment and put too much pressure on natural resources.