The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has today addressed with the other institutional actors of the Airport Coordination Committee of Extremadura, meeting today at the airport of Badajoz, the episode of intense fog recorded last December and January, and which caused incidents in the operation of this airport.
At the meeting, in which the Ministry was represented by the Deputy Director General of Air Transport, Verónica Elvira, and the Head of Airport Strategy Area of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, Ángel Galán, the different options that could be taken to minimize the impact of these in the future have been analyzed. Attendees have been invited to future meetings to study in detail these alternatives for future decision-making.
Among the solutions that have been discussed are, among others, improving the performance of the airport’s ILS (Instrumental Landing System) system, modifying the operating hours or assessing the possibility of aircraft staying overnight at the airport.
Badajoz Airport has an ILS category I navigation aid system, which allows aircraft to land safely in low visibility conditions.
This system makes it easy to operate with a minimum vertical visibility of 200 feet (61 meters) and a visual range of 800 meters. To operate with an ILS both aircraft and crews have to be enabled to do so and the last decision is always from the commander of the aircraft.
Airport Traffic Recovery
The committee, which brings together representatives of the Ministry and the main institutional actors (Junta de Extremadura, Government Delegation in Extremadura, representatives of local entities, economic and social organizations and Aena) to unite positions and share the challenges of key infrastructures for the territory, has analyzed the current situation of Badajoz Airport and has observed the recovery of traffic after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pacense’s infrastructure registered a total of 80,181 passengers in 2023, 6.3% more than in 2019 (last year before the pandemic) and 21.8% more than in 2022. As for the movement of aircraft, the airport counted 3,119 landings and take-offs in 2023, 8.3% more than in 2019 and an increase of 14.9% with respect to 2022.
In this regard, it should be noted that a week ago Aena approved a powerful three-year incentive plan to boost the increase in the offer in airports that had less than three million passengers in 2023, since airlines will be exempt from paying the fare per passenger of all passengers additional to those of 2023 for three consecutive years. This is a new plan that directly benefits the Pacense infrastructure.
The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere that reflected the good harmony between all the agencies and institutions, with a clear desire for coordination to continue working for the future of Badajoz Airport.
Participation in airport development strategy
The Airport Coordination Committees (CCAs) allow the participation of the autonomous communities, local entities and civil society in the development strategy of the airports located in their territories.
The CCAs constitute spaces for efficient dialogue between the airport manager and the territory, safeguarding the operator’s management autonomy. Its objective is that the airport infrastructures incorporate and anticipate the necessary demands for the economic and social progress of the communities in which they are located, and at the same time, contribute from each territory to guarantee the competitiveness of the airports and the sustainability of the airport system.