Axarquía
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Vélez-Málaga town hall has signed the economic-administrative specifications to hand over a municipal plot located next to the Leoni Benabú de la Axarquía airfield to the Real Aeroclub de Málaga in order to promote and encourage the increase of commercial and private aircraft traffic. An agreement was signed on Wednesday (16 October) by the mayor of the capital of the Axarquía, Jesús Lupiáñez (PP), together with the president of the Real Aeroclub de Málaga, Jesús Guerrero.
The purpose of the agreement is for the municipal plot of 16,599 square metres to be used as a parking and operations area for aircraft using the airfield. The current general urban development plan (PGOU) sets out, among other things, the promotion of tourism and the enhancement of Vélez-Málaga as the capital of the Axarquía region as its guiding objectives. A key element for achieving this, according to a statement from the bipartisan government team, made up of the PP and GIPMTM, is the expansion of the airfield.
The mayor said, "This agreement is a strong commitment to the promotion of the municipality not only as a tourist area, but also as a leisure area of the province and as a serious alternative to the great international airport of Málaga-Costa del Sol."
The airfield has increased its flight operations in recent years, to around 20,000. This is mainly due to the presence of two pilot and flight attendant academies in Malaga, Aerodynamics, based next to the runways in Vélez, and One Air, located in the capital of Malaga, but which operates in the area for return training.
"We are very happy and satisfied with the transfer of this plot of land to the Real Aeroclub de Málaga, as we are convinced that it will be an important boost to attract significant traffic of both private and commercial aircraft. For the moment, it will serve as a parking and operational space, but in the future it may even extend the runway to accommodate more traffic," explained Lupiáñez.
"Our commitment to promote all the economic and tourist resources of our municipality is unwavering. That is why we believe that the transfer of this plot and the agreement that comes with it will be a step that will mark a before and after in the airfield. We must remember that this is an important economic engine in the area, as it has the aerodynamics pilot school," the mayor added.
Since August 1992, the Real Aeroclub de Málaga has been responsible for maintaining the operation of the Leoni Benabú de la Axarquía airfield, promoting and facilitating commercial activity and flight exchanges with airports in other cities, both for sports and commercial purposes. Now, with the aim of improving the circulation of service vehicles and increasing the parking area for aircraft, mainly for private general aviation transit flights handled by Malaga airport, a concession for this plot has been requested.
For his part, Jesús Guerrero said, "It is a reality that Malaga airport diverts more and more private traffic every year. The Axarquía airfield is an added value to the region. It is, without a doubt, the best in the whole Iberian Peninsula for private aviation and sport aviation."
Guerrero explained in more detail the concession that has been signed. "The concession that has been signed is the extension of the northern area. As we have a higher density and more air traffic coming from Malaga, we need more space to park the planes. We have a problem of saturation and lack of space and that is what we are improving."
Finally, he praised the infrastructures of the Axarquía region. "Not every region has a marina and an airfield. I think we are at a privileged moment when anyone with a plane from Europe can land in our region and enjoy the surroundings. Not only on a tourist level, but also on a commercial level, of course. We are the envy of others," concluded Guerrero.
With regard to the project to extend the airfield to allow commercial and freight flights, Guerrero and Lupiáñez explained that they are still working to obtain the relevant authorisations from the local, regional and state administrations to increase the length of the current 1,150-metre runway by 500 metres. This would allow an increase in the number of larger aircraft operations, especially cargo and passenger flights.
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