PALMA airport is too small, there aren't enough moorings and there are far too many cars on the road which allegedly justifies the enormous road building programme which the island has embarked on. This is all true but only for a few weeks of the year, namely August from about the 10th to the 25th. Yes, I myself was a victim of the shortage of moorings but I was told that if I came back at the end of the month there would be plenty to choose from at very reasonable rates and I could have a mooring for as long as I liked.
It is the same story at Palma airport. While many believe it should be made bigger I still maintain that only half the airport is used for much of the year. So where does this leave us. Unfortunately, the summer season gets shorter every year and I think the local authorities would be stupid if they embarked on new building programmes, such as a bigger airport, simply to be used for two months of the year. Surely, there must be a way of having a more balanced summer season which would mean that the present local infrastructure would be enough to cope? Anymore building would be a mistake. Instead of trying to cater for a shorter season the answer must be surely to try and make the holiday season longer.
T HE Balearic government has to make an important decision when it finally comes back to work...what to do with the new metro system which was severely flooded during the recent storms. The severe flooding at three stations has certainly put the future of the underground in doubt. Repairing the flood damage will cost a small fortune. The previous administration of Jaume Matas must take some of the blame but so must the construction company and the small army of architects and engineers who designed the project.
WHILE I was on my holidays I discovered what must be Majorca's cheapest menu of the day. A three course lunch buffet style plus wine, bread, olives and water for seven euros, the price of two cafe-con-leches in many seafront bars in Majorca. Isn't it a shame that more restaurants on the island don't try and reduce their prices instead of trying to make a fast buck during the summer season.
I T is widely reported that Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones are selling their Majorcan home. Boris Becker is doing likewise. Claudia Schiffer is down-sizing and people like Richard Branson are long gone. Is Majorca losing it's star appeal? It would be a major blow for the island if Douglas and Zeta Jones and to a lesser extent Boris Becker did leave. The local authorities should be deeply concerned.