Spain's minister of transport, Raquel Sánchez, is insisting that a "proposal for the transfer of management of airports that are part of the Aena network is not currently feasible".
The minister has responded to a question in Congress from the Coalición Canaria. The party has been pressing for an arrangement whereby the regional governments in both the Canaries and the Balearics are directly involved in airport decision-making. The two island regions have argued that there should be a system of co-management (rather than complete control), but the minister points out that this would not be possible because of the "chosen company model".
She is referring to the fact that 49% of the airports authority's shares are in private hands - Aena was partially privatised in 2015. This is an obstacle that the Bulletin has regularly highlighted whenever local demands have been made for participation in the management of the airports.
Sánchez adds that the current network management model "is without doubt the one that best satisfies the general interests of the country, both globally and in particular in the different territories and regions". There are, she notes, multilateral coordination bodies where regions can present their "initiatives".
A direct say in the management of the airports, Palma in particular, has to be considered in the context of the current debate about overcrowding and of Aena plans. But the demand for a management role is an historical one that has been made by parties on both the left and the right in the Balearics.