Camps and Fabra open the airport without planes

Francisco Camps and Carlos Fabra forget for one day their pending lawsuits to take a bath with the masses paid for by public money. The controversial political pair opened today, 25 March, a private airport in Castellon with neither customers nor planes and with losses to be incurred by the Generalitat.

Fabra and Camps

The President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Francisco Camps, and the President of the Diputación of Castellón, Carlos Fabra, long ago lost the fear of what people will say. Beset by numerous allegations of corruption, criticism of the megalomaniac construction of an airport in Castellón will not affect the extraordianry consideration they have of themselves.
Fabra will leave, finally, the provincial institution after the May elections, and wanted to take a farewell tribute before the limits imposed by the Electoral Act. It prohibits openings and other promotional events from 28 March, but that would not be an obstacle. Nor is it a problem opening an airport that has as yet does not have the relevant permits from the Ministry of Development authorizing activities. The only important thing is to honour Fabra, with public money if possible. For this, the promoter of Castellón airport and the 16 councils run by the Partido Popular, have chartered buses to fill the ghost instalations with supporters to acclaim Fabra and Camps, in charge of the speeches, unveilling the commemorative plaque and cutting the tape. Unfortunately, they can not show the Fabra inspired statue to be installed in the entrance , but at least the Diputación , ie all Castellón, will cover the cost of catering for 1,000 people.
Carlos Fabra, in his capacity as president of the airport promotional company Aerocas, finally signed on Wednesday the much awaited agreement between the public institution and the society that will run the installations, Concesiones Aeroportuarias. Under the new deal, Aerocas will pay Concesiones between six and eight million euros per year to cover any costs resulting from the management of the airport during the first eight years of operation. In addition, Aerocas will be forced to make up any losses suffered by the infrastructure also over the initial eight years of business. This clause replaces the previous obligation for the government-run body to pay six euros per passenger until the airport reaches a regular traffic of 600,000 travellers.

Ya es primavera: Spring is here

We’re now in Spring, which started at 00:21 on Tuesday 22nd March and to mark the occasion here is the TV campaign presented by El Corte Inglés under the slogan “Ya es Primavera”. The star of the  advert is the Dutch model Cato Van Ee.  On this occasion El Corte Inglés has gone back to 2008 for the theme “The World is crazy” by Lonely Drifter Karen.

Ya es primavera, El Corte Ingles 2011

The Spanish Meterological Agency, AEMET is predicting a ‘very normal’ season.  They say that conditions this Spring will not see significant variations from the norm.  Head of forecasting at AEMET, Fermín Eliazaga, said that for April to June, they are predicting that temperatures and rainfall will be normal, except on the Canaries and Baleares where temperatures will be slightly higher.
The experts also predict that Spring will bring aggressive pollens which could stay around for longer than normal.  The high pollution levels recently in some Spanish cities will worsen the symptoms for many who suffer hayfever, the symptoms for which are starting about now, according to the SEAIC, the Spanish Society for Clinical Allergy and Immunology.  They say that it will be in April, May and June when the symptoms worsen and that levels of pollen of as much as 5,400 grains per cubic metres will be seen in the centre and south of the mainland – although the daily average will be around 200 gr/m3 in the rest of the country.
The three months from December 2010 to February 2011 have meanwhile been 0.2ºC warmer on average than the reference period compiled from data for the years 1971-2000.  December was slightly colder, while January and February were warmer.  The last three months have also been 15% wetter than normal.

Unions withdraw threat to shut down nation’s airports

Seeking a last-minute deal to avoid an Easter travel nightmare, the government’s state-owned airport operator AENA and union representatives headed off a nationwide shutdown of air facilities Wednesday when they reached an agreement over jobs.

The accord was hammered out after Public Works Minister José Blanco agreed to keep intact the collective bargaining agreements until 2018. This will guarantee employees’ current work conditions until then, even if services at Spain’s airports are contracted out as the government proposes in its drive to reduce state spending, an AENA source said. Unions had threatened to shut down air facilities for 22 crucial high-travel days during Easter and throughout summer. Analysts warned that such a drastic move would further hurt Spain’s lethargic economy.

Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero told lawmakers in Congress that the agreement “guarantees complete normal operations in airports” and the “mobility of citizens and visitors during significant dates.”

“It is a good agreement that shows with dialogue you can reach things and I am very grateful to the unions who have shown good faith to sit down and discuss how to protect the rights of workers,” Blanco said.

The government and the CCOO, UGT and USO unions spent nearly 17 hours at the negotiation table before an agreement was reached in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

In an effort to prevent massive cancellations in travel plans, tourism and Public Works officials began transmitting messages to tour operators and governments abroad that the strike in Spain has been headed off.

“The strike would have been very damaging for the Spanish tourism industry because the dates proposed were so important. A strike could have ended up hurting GDP,” Juan José Fernández, a Link Securities analyst in Madrid, told Bloomberg.

via AENA accord staves off air-travel nightmare · ELPAÍS.com in English.

The official opening of Castellón Airport set for 25th March.

At a campaign rally for the Partido Popular in Les Coves de Vinromà last night, Carlos Fabra announced that Friday March 25 will be the day of the opening of the brand new airport at Castellón.  The choice of Les Coves to make the announcement is no coincidence, since the site of Castellón Airport is in this region, located between the towns of Vilanova d’Alcolea and Benlloch.  Responding to the criticism from the opposition to inaugurate an infrastructure without waiting for it to become operational, he admitted that “we are actually electioneering.” “We have done most of the legislative infrastructure in the Region and we want people to know it and come to see it.”

In the coming days it is expected that the end of the work will be officially certified. Then in a symbolic act, the concessionaire will formally present the airport to  Aerocas, the public company that has sponsored the project. Nevertheless it will be several months after the official opening before the airport becomes operational. It still remains for the Ministry of Development to grant the relevant permits and licenses for aircraft to operate from the premises.  Another matter still outstanding  is the recruitment of the air traffic controllers.

For now, five companies have expressed interest in operating from Castellón: Air Nostrum, Wizzair, Ryanair, Blue Air and Jet2.com.

AENA calls series of airport strikes to protest privatization

Three months after a wildcat strike launched by air traffic controllers brought Spain’s airspace to a standstill- and led the government to declare a state of alert- the country’s main labor unions on Tuesday informed the Labor Ministry that a further 22 days of inaction have been slated in protest at the planned part-privatization of the airport services provider AENA.

The dates on which the strikes are mooted have been planned to cause maximum disruption: the first series of strikes would fall on Easter week and public holidays in May. The full timetable of proposed stoppages is April 20, 21, 24, 25 and 30; May 2, 14, 15, 19 and 20; June 13, 23 and 30; July 1, 2, 3, 4, 15 and 31 and August 1, 15 and 31. All are strategic dates during the country’s busiest holiday periods.

The government has not made great strides to appease the unions, which have demanded the government backtrack on plans to sell 49 percent of AENA and to privatize the running of Spain’s two largest airports, Madrid Barajas and El Prat in Barcelona. In a joint communiqué, the unions accused the Public Works Ministry of lying in its assertion that the two parties are engaged in talks and that there is no labor conflict within AENA: “The arrogance of the ministry makes it incapable of seeking solutions to the problems in air transport,” the statement read.

The strike plan was forged during a protest march in February after the government refused to back down. On learning of its formalization, Public Works Minister José Blanco spoke of his confidence that an agreement to avoid strike action would be reached. A meeting between the ministry and unions has been scheduled for Thursday.

via AENA calls series of airport strikes to protest privatization · ELPAÍS.com in English.

Castellón airport due to open soon?

With local elections to be held on 22 May 2011 the inauguration of Castellón airport must take place inside the legal limits that ban this type of events within the 55 days prior to elections so that Carlos Fabra, the provincial president and chief of the government backed development company Aerocas,  can have his moment of glory.
Work on the airport is said to be almost complete and the opening ceremony will be a chance for the public to see it. Mind you the airport still does not have the necessary permits for flights to begin operating from the site nor has it solved the conflict with managing firm Globalvía.