According to LaVanguardia.com SNC-Lavalin confirmed the first commercial flight will operate in Castellón airport before the end of 2014. They foresee to have reached one million passengers per year in ten years.
We had recently informed that Murcia-Corvera airport intend to start operations in 2014 as well. Probably both airports want to take benefit from the good figures of the Spanish airports in general, and Alicante in particular. Alicante gained passengers by 7.7% between January and April 2014 with regard to the same period of 2013.
Alain Russel, chairman of SNC-Lavalin – the company to manage Castellón airport – said this during the presentation of the project for the Castellón airport management during a twenty year period. This happened just after the signature of the agreement between SNC-Lavalin and the Government of the Valencia Autonomous Region.
Lavalin expect to exceed 200,000 passenger in 2017, one million in 2025 and over 1.2 million in 2029. From the moment they reach the amount of 1.2 million passengers a year, they would have to start paying 1 Euro per passanger to the Government of the Valencia Autonomous Region.
Russel, who takes over the position of airport director, explained that an airport does not produce immediate results. In the past, he used to be airport director for Nice or Strasbourg
He did not give airline names or possible clients. However, he said he intends to exploit “the business market from Castellón to Europe and the holiday industry from the North and East of Europe to Castellón, apart from France”.
Lavalin also confirmed that they will receive 24 million Euros of public money for the airport management aswe had anticipated. To this amount they are expecting to add their incomes from their invoicing.
The airport director said that they will open other private airports in Spain after Castellón airport.
“If we succeed, and I have no doubts that we will, we are going to be ready for the passenger exploitation”.
For his part, the president of the Valencia Autonomous Region, Alberto Fabra, said “Lavalin has come to stay”
Fabra also said that Castellón will have new railway infrastructures in the forthcoming months, like the high speed train or the “Corredor Mediterráneo”.
Photo: Valencia Autonomous Region president presenting the Castellón airport project / PresidenciaGVA
