The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility will strengthen the air connections that are included in the Public Service Obligation of Melilla with Almería and Granada.
Thus, from January 1, 2025, eight weekly frequencies are established between Melilla-Almería and many others between Melilla-Granada, as stated in Order TRM/951/2024, published this Friday in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
Although it will be the airline that will freely adapt the days of operation and schedules to the real demand of the market, the ministerial order establishes a minimum annual capacity of 42,000 seats.
The Delegate of the Government, Sabrina Moh, in an interview made in Televisión Melilla this morning, has valued this measure “designed, once again, to improve the quality of air transport, to improve connections and also, of course, to promote tourism”.
The current OSP established five weekly frequencies, which, from January, will entail the obligation of the airline to put three more weekly frequencies at the service of citizens.
During the television interview, the head of the Government Delegation recalled that the OSP with these two destinations - along with the one in Seville - was approved by the Executive of Pedro Sánchez in 2018 after these destinations were lost during the Government of Mariano Rajoy.
Pilot project
With regard to the request of the Autonomous City to establish an OSP for the Melilla lines with Malaga and Madrid, Sabrina Moh explained that both are lines that are already consolidated and in order to establish Public Service Obligations it must contemplate several characteristics, among them, that such a connection is in danger, something that does not happen with Malaga and Madrid.
“The Malaga and Madrid lines are lines that are already consolidated, they are lines that, in addition, have been increasing in terms of frequency and passengers and, therefore, an armour is not necessary,” he said. “There is a need for other issues, such as the issue of maximum prices, and that is where we want to provide a solution,” he said.
For this reason, he said, the Ministry of Transport is working on a pilot project, which would also include a territory of the Balearic Islands and another of the Canary Islands in addition to Melilla. “This unprecedented project and how it is a public service obligation in the tariffs to establish maximum prices,” he said. “We are talking about the Pilot Project for the Melilla-Madrid line, which is where, according to the studies carried out, the prices are higher,” said the Delegate.