Més in Mallorca have lodged a request for the director of Palma Son Sant Joan Airport, Tomás Melgar, to appear before a Senate committee in order to report on the Aena airports authority's plans for the expansion of the airport.
On Monday, Melgar informed the Balearic parliament that he would not be appearing before a parliament committee on Wednesday. This was because parliament doesn't have jurisdiction over a state organisation (Aena) or a state facility (the airport).
Miquel Ensenyat, the Més spokesperson in parliament, said on Tuesday that his party has therefore decided to request his appearance in the Senate as well as that of the minister of transport, Raquel Sánchez. This request will be made by Vicenç Vidal of Més, who is a senator.
Ensenyat observed that, although it is true that Aena has no "legal obligation" to appear before parliament, it would have been good if he had - "out of courtesy". "It would have been a sign of transparency" for a matter of vital importance to the Balearics.
The Més spokesperson stressed that the airport is "the gateway to and from" Mallorca. There is, he argued, "contempt" for regional institutions (e.g. the Balearic government), which have absolutely no say and do not know the real intentions for the airport.
Senator Vidal stated that his request for Melgar to appear before the Senate indicated an "offence against the Balearic parliament". "It is contemptuous that a public employee like Melgar refuses to explain his work to parliament."