Malaga city council seals off private car park with 1,000 spaces that serves airport users

The Local Police sealed off on Monday a private car park in the San Julián area that has been serving Malaga Airport users for 15 years.

SP Parking, located behing Leroy Merlin and Decathlon, covers an area of more than 21,000 square metres and has a capacity for around 1,000 vehicles. Drivers are offered a minibus service to go to and from the airport.

The city council's department of commerce has justified the decision, stating that the operation of the car park is not authorised. The procedure started with a complaint by the land owner, who reported that the car park occupied a larger area than the one it rented.

In March 2024, the city council investigated and informed the company managing the car park that it did not have the necessary licence. In response, the company stated that it does have a licence for the usage of 360 square metres for "exhibition, sale and storage of vehicles and spare parts". According to the manager, the car park falls under this use, which means that it does not need a specific permit.

The city council, however, stated that the area used as a car park exceeds the limits that would allow the company to not have a special permit.

In the last two years, the Local Police have made several warnings, while the letter exchange between the company and the city council continued.

In May 2025, the city council finally opened a sanctioning file. Three months later, the company submitted the documentation under a self-declaration for the activity of "vehicle guarding and custody, parking of vehicles and camper vans and office space".

The city council rejected the declaration and proceeded with the sanctioning file, which involves a fine of 22,000 euros and the closure of the facilities until further notice.

The company that manages the car park has rejected the closure. On Sunday, it presented documentation to object the city council's decision.

According to councillor for commerce Elisa Pérez de Siles, "the case has not been resolved" and the objection cannot be accepted.

The car park was sealed off with some 900 cars inside. "We are at 90% capacity and we don't know how we are going to dispose of the cars we have. We are being held hostage," the company, which has more than 20 workers, said.

Pérez de Siles said that there is nothing to stop the owners of the vehicles parked on the site from removing them. "What they can't do is continue operating the car park, but the owners of the cars can remove them," she stated.

The company started renting 11,000 square metres of land in 2010. The surface area was then reduced to 8,000 square metres and again expanded by an additional 13,000 square metres in 2016, when the company signed a rental contract with another company. The car park has been operational since the first land rental contract.