Mosa Trajectum Forum | Murcia Golf Forum

New airport to boost Alicante region tourism

Friday, January 28, 2011

The opening of Corvera airport near Murcia City in Spain is expected to triple the number of visitors to the region, increase competitive flight prices and increase rental occupancy in the area by 25%, it is claimed.

Demand for rentals in the area is already up with Alicante airport alone seeing a 2.7% increase in passenger figures in 2010 and further infrastructure improvements are also set to have an effect, according to Atlas International.

Some €555.7 million has been set aside in Spain’s 2011 budget for improvements projects in the Alicante region and this includes the high speed rail link to Madrid. There is also the green light for the Paramount Studios theme park to go ahead in Murcia that is expected to create 20,000 jobs and attract three million visitors a year, adding to demand for property and rentals in the area.

The region is also expected to spend more money promoting itself. Torreveija city council has set aside money for advertising and promotional campaigns

when will this airport open ?

Supposed to be last week of June this year...........

Any information available re who will use it and flights?

for turists and flights from Brussels for exemple

AENA Denies Airport Closure
A.E.N.A., the Spanish Airports Authority, has denied claims by the Murcia President, Ramón Luis Valcárcel that San Javier airport will close once the new international airport at Corvera opens. A spokesperson for A.E.N.A. said that it had just spent €67 million on building a new runway and traffic control tower and renovating the terminal, so why would they close it; it didn't make sense.
The second runway at San Javier airport was officially opened on Friday March 18th, allowing more daytime domestic flights. On Monday March 28th the first daytime flights will depart from San Javier with destinations of Manchester, Madrid and London. On Tuesday March 22nd, during a visit to the site of the new Corvera airport, President Ramón Luis Valcárcel commented that he was in negotiation with the government to close San Javier airport to domestic flights and transfer them to the international airport in Corvera when it opens next year.
This comment has since been denied by both the A.E.N.A. and a government spokesperson. At the opening of the new runway in San Javier, the region's Transport Secretary, Isaías Táboas, commented to the Minister of Public Works, José Ballesta, that they were willing to work on a formula that would allow San Javier and Corvera airports to be compatible, thereby providing the region's residents and tourists with the best possible travel options. The mayor of San Javier, Pepa García, called the President's comments "very strange" and added that there must be a misunderstanding because, "I don´t think he would lie. The airport makes money and allows lots of tourists to visit the region and it will continue to do so in years to come."

Another nail in the coffin for San Javier Airport:
Despite the millions of Euros that have recently been spent on expanding San Javier airport in Murcia, a verbal agreement between central and regional governments to transfer all civilian flights from San Javier to the new international airport at Corvera has now been signed. The agreement clearly shows that San Javier Airport will return back to being a strictly military airport once the new international airport at Corvera opens. The only time San Javier will be used for civilian flights will is in cases of emergency.
A.E.N.A. the Spanish Airports Authority will be in charge of running the international airport at Corvera once it opens at some point in the first trimester of 2012. According to Aeromur, the company that has won the concession for Corvera international airport hopes that test operations will begin in April.

Hi CamperV I,
I live permanently on Mosa, and would love to hear the definitive answer about San Javier/Corvera. But like virtually everything here, it's the "same old, same old": there doesn't seem TO BE a definitve answer - just one rumour after another.
One reads the reports in the papers about other recently-completed airports in Spain which either achieve no more than 3% of projected passengers - or in one particular case, the mega-million airport hasn't yet managed to even have any landings at all..
I'm sure that Corvera would love to have all flights transferred from San Javier to them - it probably couldn't be financially viable for Corvera to compete with San Javiier on a level playing field, and the "easy" answer is for San Javier flights to be transferred to them on a compulsory basis.
But San Javier isn't so enthusiastic, as witnessed by the taxis who are carrying "hands off San Javier" placards on their cars, and losing the airport could be the kiss of death to San Javier..

My own gut feeling is that Corvera was planned (and financed) in the heady days before the economy went bumpo, and once agreed, no-one was either able, or even inclined, to re-assess the situation. So with Paramount in the offing, it was a regional/central government decision to try to ensure that Corvera was a success - even if it meant binning San Javier as a terrible consequence.
But Paramount is still years from opening, and Corvera has to survive until then.
If Corvera management is eminently sensible, they may achieve the budget airlines, Ryanair, Jet2 etc, If Corvera is not inclined to make hugely-attractive scales of charges, there is the acute danger that the "cheapies" will simply concentrate on Alicante.
It has to be born in mind that Alicante is much more convenient and accessible to people living anywhere East of Playa Flemenca, and that's a huge market.
But whatever happens, "someone" is going to be a huge loser.

All very interesting. It's nice to have something to read about on here evan if there are no proper answers. I hope both airports remain open, but only time will tell. I understood that the new airport is actually nearer than san javier airport, but last time I went look looking for it. Can anyone confim which airport is the nearer and by how much.

I think the new airport will be less than 10 minutes away........ which should be great for us.......

Hi jmitchell.
A vallid point, but as I live here and we have many visitors, unfortunately for me, "nearness" is simply relative.

Our visitors (possibly all visitors) are inevitively governed by the "convenience syndrome":
Where is the most convenient airport of departure TO THEM::
Which offer flights departing & returning at convenient dates and times FOR THEM::
THE COST!

I bow with no resistence whatsoever to THEIR travel plans - it entails for me a collect time of:
Corvera - 15 minute?.
San Javier - 30 minutes.
Alicante (my least favourite) but still only 50 minutes.

So in the WORST possible case, I make a round-trip saving of around 90 minutes: hardly life-threatening, and our visitors seem to enjoy the additional 30 minutes relaxing in the car and indulging in current gossip.

So from a personal aspect, I am totally underwhelmed about the prospect of Corvera - my regrets are for San Javier & the immediate surrounding area if San Javier is forced in to closure.
The economic climate in this area is dire enough already:closing San J will force many taxi drivers to re-appraise their future: at least 2 car-parks there will be left without a livelihood: the affect on the local workforce, and so it goes on.

I am also acutely aware that urbanisations like Corvera & Hacienda del Alamo are nearer to the airport than Mosa, and will possibly be more attractive to holiday tenants.

What what gains on the swings, one loses on the roundabouts?

.

I agree with what you say, but when you are just popping out yourself, it is the nearest at that end that I'm interested in.

Hi griz616,
Assuming that there will be the availability of flights to virtually everywhere in Europe which is currently catered for by San Javier/Alicante, then for people wishing to visit Mosa/people from Mosa wishing to fly elsewhere, then (and when it's actually open & functioning in all respects) Corvera will be nearer than San Javier by around only some 15 minutes - hence my own lukewarm attitude to it all.
San Javier has a well-established :long-based infrastructure, and a proven track record.. If Corvera opens on just a slow & progressive basis, perhaps some of the entrepaneur companies may not be prepared to invest heavily there until it's up-and-running - or more literally, up-and-flying
By that, I mean car hire companies, taxi companies, a viable bus service, cafeterias, small shops, independent & cheap car-parking companies, popular supermarkets in fairly close proximity - all the assets which San Javier currently has and which people demand.

Currently, anyone wishing to visit anywhere West of Aguilas has an almost-equidistant choice of either San Javier/Corvera or Almeria. West of Aguilas, I suspect (prices being equitable) people would opt for Almeria.
So Corvera is unlikely to attract any new traffic for West of Aguilas. East of Aguilas is already catered for by them or San Javier - EXCEPT that Corvera "could" lose a considerable volume of people who currently fly to San Javier, but would transfer to Alicante in preference to using Corvera.
But I'm sure that this has all been taken into account?

More flights for San Javier:

A.E.N.A. (The Spanish Airport Navigation Authority) has announced an extra 22 flights will be arriving and departing from San Javier airport this summer. This comes on the back of the recent news that the new international airport at Corvera is facing delays and is now unlikely to open until well into 2013. The President of Murcia Ramon Luis Valcárcel has given the date of summer 2013 as the earliest date that this international airport could be operational. Airlines companies that had previously planned to change to Corvera international airport for the end of this year will now be delaying it until further news, so until then the flights in and out of San Javier will still continue.