lleida airport

Organization claims Catalan executive gave €3.2 m subsidy despite climate emergency

Meanwhile Spanish Congress suspends events after first MP infected

Despite not living up to initial expectations, the airport in Catalonia's western province has changed strategy to target aeronautical services

The Andorra-la Seu d’Urgell Airport kicked off its public and commercial activities on Thursday, and is able to host aircraft of up to 40 seats. The old La Seu d’Urgell’s airfield, in the middle of a Pyrenean valley and only 15km away from Andorra, has been updated to go beyond being a facility merely used by recreational light aircraft. From now on, small commercial airliners, charter flights and air taxis will be able to operate from this mountain airport very close to Catalonia’s and Andorra’s main ski resorts. The new facilities will be managed by the Catalan Government and Andorra, which will meet half of its operational costs. The Catalan Executive is currently negotiating with 8 companies that may be interested in flying from the airport. Furthermore, the permits needed to host flights from outside the Schengen Area are expected to be granted by the Spanish authorities during 2015.

The project ‘Persecuted and Saved’ will tell the story of how 80,000 WW2 refugees escaped persecution and death through the Pyrenees mountains into Catalonia. The Israel Ambassador in Spain, Alon Bar, and the CEO of EL-AL - the main Israeli airline, Walter Wasercier, have already taken a key interest in the project, aiming to promote the history of the 20,000 Jews that used the mountains to escape from the Holocaust and obtain their freedom. The project is based in the Province of Lleida, in western Catalonia, around various historical sites, including refugee camps and mountain pathways used by fleeing refugees.

This Sunday, 800 tourists from the UK landed at Lleida-Alguaire Airport (Western Catalonia) to go skiing in the Pyrenees. The high number of English passengers is mostly due to the commitment of British tour operator Neilson Thomas Cook to the Catalan airport, which will run flights from Manchester, Southampton, Birmingham, Gatwick and Bristol. Until March, 20,000 skiers are expected to land in Lleida, along with 15,000 other visitors, to make the airport’s total number of passengers reach 35,000. Many of them will then cross the border to enjoy ski resorts in Andorra. According to the Catalan Government’s Delegate in the Lleida Province, Ramon Farré, these figures still show that “this airport is far from other airports in Spain which are not so successful”.

By early 2013 the Airport of Lleida-Alguaire, located in Western Catalonia next to the border with Aragon, will have a maintenance centre with a capacity to host up to 50 airplanes like the Airbus model A320. The private company AirHoster will invest €3 million in building the initial facilities. 75 jobs will be created, as well as a school to train technicians. The Lleida-Alguaire Airport has received very few flights since it opened its doors in January 2010, most of them run by tour operators bringing skiers to the Pyrenees.

British skiers are able to access the Catalan Pyrenees as of December with direct flights to Lleida Airport. The Spanish Government has authorised the arrival and departure of non-Schengen flights, coming from the likes of the United Kingdom and Russia. However, the authorisation’s delay forced a Russian tour operator to cancel the flights for this season and postpone them until next year.

The ski resort of Baqueira Beret, located in the Catalan Western Pyrenees, has invested 6 million euros to update its facilities. Baqueira Beret’s ski slopes are scheduled to open the season on November 26th. This ski resort, in the Val d’Aran County, is one of the largest in the Pyrenees.

The Catalan airline Pyrenair postponed all flights that were connecting Lleida and Vigo. For the moment, they will continue operating between Lleida-Alguaire airport and Madrid and will replace the previous flight with a new one to and from A Coruña.

Pyrenair will transport skiers from Vigo, Madrid and the Canary Islands to Lleida-Alguaire airport for the next five weeks. Nine in ten seats were already full for the first flights last Sunday.

The ski vacation tour operator plans to operate 6 flights a week from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin and Belfast to the Lleida-Alguaire Airport. This new airport serves Lleida city as well as Lleida's Pyrenees.

Vueling will offer flights to the Lleida-Alguaire airport from 14 cities around Europe via Barcelona. The airline company Pyrenair will offer ski vacation flights from Madrid, Vigo and Lisbon.