The president of the Tenerife Council, Pedro Martín, together with a broad representation of the island’s economic and social agents, claimed the necessary investments for the comprehensive improvement of the Tenerife South airport, with a new passenger terminal. “If Aena ignores us, we will have to go to the State Government,” he said. It is expected that on Tuesday, in the Council of Ministers, the money allocated to draft the terminal will be increased from 3.5 million to about 10 and that it will be included in the DORA 2022-2026.
“Although much progress has been made in terms of improvements at the Tenerife North Airport, in areas such as check-in, baggage claim, a new passport area or expansion of the passenger area for inter-island flights, Tenerife South continues to be the airport that wait for a comprehensive project “, he assured.
In addition, he 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 the T1 and T2. “However, what we miss – he said – is that there really is an overall vision of the Tenerife South Airport, a clear planning of which airport we want for the next 20 or 30 years. And that requires a vision in which an analysis of what has already been built is proposed, of the works that are being carried out, of the improvements that must be made in the arrivals and departures of passengers, in the connection areas, in the fluidity between the different areas of the airport and especially in international arrivals ”.
Therefore, he insisted that “there must be a clear commitment to the budget to carry out 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 ”.
Martín 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. “Our main gateway must be at the level of what this island is able to offer to those who visit us,” he remarked.
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. “Aena has been covering our mouths with patches at the Tenerife South terminal and that’s 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 to draft the projects, and an item that allows not only to face environmental procedures, but also to start the work that the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Santiago Sesé, quantified in about 400 million euros. In addition, he added the importance of “having an airport that is up to the quality and excellence that should be offered.”
The representatives of the majority unions (CC.OO, UGT and Intersindical Canaria) expressed their agreement with the initiative to join forces regarding the comprehensive improvement of the airport, but “always in line with the lines of the green economy,” they said.
