Ashotel supports the Cabildo of Tenerife to negotiate with the State the work of the new terminal at the Tenerife South airport

Agustín Marichal, its president, states that “it is sad that neither AENA nor the Government of Spain have understood this more than justified demand of the entire Tenerife society, led by the Cabildo of Tenerife, with all the political groups, social and economic agents of the Island ”. At this point, he remembers the meeting they held last Friday in the noble hall of the Insular Palace, a summit at which «The airport body, with a public majority, was asked to reconsider the project that Tenerife really needs and the investment that comes with it ”, adds the owner of the hotel management association.

Summit in which business organizations (Ashotel, Chamber of Commerce, CEOE, Fepeco, CEST, FAST, Femete and Asinca, among others), trade unions (UGT, CCOO and Intersindical Canaria) and the Cabildo de Tenerife came together to claim the necessary investments for the comprehensive improvement of the Tenerife South Airport.

Behind the AENA’s refusal to attend to the request to collect the items required by Tenerife South at DORA 2022-2026, Ashotel announces that “it supports the Cabildo de Tenerife, through its president, Pedro Martín, to lead the negotiations with the State in order to achieve, even if it is outside the five-year investment plan that yesterday (Tuesday) approved the Council of Ministers, the signature of an agreement that allows the Island not to lose the train of competitiveness ». From Marichal’s perspective, “it is vital for Tenerife’s economy to achieve, once and for all, the investment necessary to draft the new terminal project, as well as the start of the works before the end of 2026”. Along these lines, he points out that “if this means advancing the money, let the Cabildo take a step forward.”

AENA errors

The investments planned in the DORA 2017-2021, about to expire, only contemplated the adaptation of the aircraft parking platform and the union of the two existing terminals in Tenerife South, one of them completely obsolete (it dates from 1978, the year the airport was inaugurated) and the other unused since its construction (2009) due to different problems.

In this regard, Agustín Marichal recalls that “AENA already made a mistake in a previous project in Tenerife South, that of the satellite terminal, which was finally found to be useless and, in fact, is in disuse”, which is why he insists in which «it is necessary to agree with the Island which terminal we need here». Words with which it aligns itself in the approach formulated by the Cabildo in a traditional way.

Another aspect on which the president of the hotel management organization alludes to the Reina Sofía’s contribution to the AENA airport network. «Tenerife Sur is a highly profitable infrastructure, but punished in state budgets. Ashotel has been claiming for years a worthy terminal for the main airport in Tenerife in passenger volume, with 11.1 million in 2019, according to data from AENA itself, “it states in its communication.

Loss of competitiveness

Canary Coalition speaks of «contempt for Tenerife». The agreement of the Council of Ministers that excludes the construction of the new terminal “will mean a delay for the Island, since it will lose competitiveness,” explains the Secretary of Organization of Tenerife’s nationalists, Rosa Dávila. For the regional deputy, the decision “is not only unfair because the South Airport is profitable, but it seriously harms tourism, the economic engine of Tenerife and the Archipelago.”

Jose Manuel Bermudez, Secretary of Insular Policy of CC, points out to the president of the Cabildo, Pedro Martín, because “he has not known how to defend the interests of Tenerife”, and that of the Canary Government, Ángel Víctor Torres, who “has not even bothered about the new terminal . The PSOE and AENA mistreat us and there is no one who defends us or makes it possible for us to invest in our Island. This is bad news for Tenerife ».

The also mayor of Santa Cruz warns that we will have to wait for DORAIII, whose validity period will span from 2027 to 2031. “While other competing destinations improve their infrastructures, we will have to wait, because there is no leadership either in the Cabildo or in the Government of the Canary Islands to defend what belongs to us by right,” he reflects.

“We are going to work to see if there is any possibility that the works will be carried out, but I am very afraid that we will not achieve anything. The PSOE in Tenerife surrendered before fighting and the result is that the entire island is harmed, “said Rosa Dávila.