‘Regulation’ plan for airport businesses
Order must be restored in town planning chaos, says Elche city councillor
ELCHE council’s plan to ‘regularise’ the situation of businesses' activities in the area surrounding AlicanteElche airport is ready to be submitted for public consultation.
All sorts of businesses have proliferated on plots of land which are classified as not for building, some of which are complementary and others necessary to the functioning of the airport, explained councillor for town planning Ana Arabid.
Some of them are still running on provisional licences issued in 2003, she noted, and the solution needs to ensure that the services necessary for the airport to run are still available while at the same time putting the town planning situation of the area in order.
A legally required preliminary study by council technicians proposed that a single area should be established in which car rental and parking activities are allowed, in order to minimise their impact on the environment and local residents.
The plan’s objectives are to halt the uncontrolled expansion of land being used for these purposes, enable their situation to be regularised, set up a network to provide adequate services to the area, and implement corrective measures to minimise their environmental impact.
The document will be available for 30 days on the municipal website (www.elche.es) and any objections or suggestions can be submitted by email to consultapreviapeae ropuerto@elche.es
Airport prize
The Airports Council International (ACI) has rated Alicante-Elche airport as having some of the ‘best hygiene measures’ in Europe.
Their airport service quality awards are based on the views of customers in 2020. An ACI spokesman noted that there were 15 winners in Europe in the hygiene section, including Alicante-Elche – with the others in Spain being Murcia international, Santander, Granada-Jaén, Menorca, and Pamplona.
Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said: “This has been the toughest year in our industry’s history, and the effects of the pandemic have hit hard as passenger numbers plummeted, workforces were reduced and local communities were paralysed by travel restrictions.
“So more than ever, bravo to all our winners, and to each and every member of our airport community as they continue to deliver excellence in the face of adversity.”
Director of Alicante-Elche airport, Laura Navarro said that it was a big success and it was good to be rated highly by the airport users.