SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Sep 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín, together with a wide representation of the economic and social agents of the island, has claimed this Friday the necessary investments for the comprehensive improvement of the Tenerife South airport.
The island corporation, through Pedro Martín, has been in permanent contact with those responsible for Aena during the last year and a half to determine the catalog of needs and the improvements to be made at the island’s airports.
“Although much progress has been made in terms of investment and improvements in the Tenerife North airport, in areas such as check-in, baggage claim, new passport area or expansion of the passenger area for inter-island flights, Tenerife South continues to be the airport waiting for a comprehensive improvement project, “said the president.
Martín recalled that at the end of 2021, Aena will have invested 154 million euros in Tenerife South, a figure linked to improvements in electrification, the aircraft taxiway and most of the investment allocated to the new connection of T1 and the T2.
“However, what we miss is that there really is an overall vision of the Tenerife Sur airport, a clear planning of which airport we want for the next 20 or 30 years. And that requires a vision in which a analysis of what has already been built, of the works that are being carried out, of the improvements to be made in passenger arrivals and departures, in the connection areas, in the fluidity between the different areas of the airport, especially in the area of international arrivals, “he said.
Therefore, he insisted that “there must be a clear commitment of budgetary allocation to execute an ambitious project, in which a reading of the entire building and not just one of its parts is made, which makes it much more functional, more comfortable and that generates an experience of greater satisfaction for the users “.
The island president stressed that Tenerife South is one of the most profitable airports in the Spanish system and that, once the crisis caused by the pandemic passes, it will once again be a benchmark, all of this, moreover, in an autonomous community that is one of those that more quickly they are driving the recovery of air connectivity.
Therefore, “its main gateway must be at the level of what this island is able to offer to those who visit us,” he commented.
For his part, the president of Ashotel, Jorge Marichal, first highlighted the relevance of this unanimous support for the demand for a vital infrastructure for Tenerife, with the presence of political groups and economic and social agents of the island.
MARICHAL CRITICIANS THE “PATCHES IN TENERIFE SUR
“Aena has been covering our mouths with patches in the Tenerife South terminal and that is fine,” said Marichal, who made it clear that among the urgent measures to be taken should be the incorporation of the airport into Aena’s investment plan; its inclusion in the DORA 2022-2026 with between ten and twelve million and an item that allows not only to face environmental procedures, but to start the work.
In the same sense, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Santiago Sesé, said, adding the importance of “having an airport that is up to the quality and excellence that should be offered.”
“We demand an infrastructure that is strategic not only for Tenerife, but for the Canary Islands,” he said, while adding that “having a second-rate airport brings with it a significant loss of competitiveness.”
Sesé declared that “what for Aena is to gain time, for the Canary Islands it is a drag on the development of its economy”.
The representatives of the majority unions showed their agreement with the initiative to join forces regarding the comprehensive improvement of the airport.
In this way, the general secretary of UGT Canarias, Manuel Navarro, assured that they are in favor of the development of the Canary Islands “always from a sustainable perspective and in accordance with the lines of the green economy”, and claimed that as an active social agent they will be “pending ” of the proyects.
Meanwhile, Andrés Baute, from CCOO, thanked the unions for the definition of the airport that the island needs, taking into account the sustainable development goals set by the UN.
Virgilio Gómez, from Intersindical Canaria, indicated that “it is necessary for Tenerife Sur to once again be a transoceanic airport, because right now it is being neglected, and it must be done with greater ambition and providing it with the necessary resources.”