The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, considers that a second runway at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport “makes no sense” and has welcomed the fact that this idea has “fortunately been abandoned”. He stated that the infrastructure serving Alicante and Elche currently needs terminal space, taxiways and jet bridges, rather than another runway.
His comments came following repeated demands from the regional government, the Generalitat Valenciana, for the central government to build a second runway at the Alicante-Elche site. The regional administration argued that the second runway was necessary after the airport exceeded 19.9 million annual passengers in 2025, recording an 8.5 per cent year-on-year growth, which they claim is required to compete on equal terms with other hubs such as Malaga.
Addressing the broader picture, the minister highlighted that the 2027 to 2030 period will see an investment of 13,000 million euro across Spanish airports to increase capacity and travel comfort, describing the planned expenditure for the coming years as very significant.
Regarding Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport, Puente acknowledged that it does require a terminal expansion because it is saturated. He explained that growth remains possible by adapting to the capacity still available during off-peak hours, although operating limits are close to being reached.
Barajas is set to undergo a massive transformation, including a new adjoining building for passport control and the unification of Terminals 1, 2 and 3. The minister explained that this will leave the terminals much more operational and comfortable for passengers, as access control will be moved to the adjacent building. Additionally, 500 metres will be added to Terminal 4, alongside major investments at other airports such as El Prat, where additional runway capacity is genuinely needed.
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