Palma Airport reopens Module A for the start of the summer season
Thursday, April 3rd, 2014
Module A has been closed since last November to reduce operating costs at Mallorca Son Sant Joan airport. The module has now reopened culminating with the start of the summer season.
The closure, as in previous years, was motivated by the sharp drop in passengers at the end of the summer season. AENA-Palma therefore closed the module to optimize the infrastructure at the terminal building.
This has become normal practice at Palma airport where this has occurred for the last few years. The seasonal influx of tourists visiting the Son Sant Joan airport causes massive variations in passenger traffic between summer and winter.
This variation happens largely between the months of May to October when Palma airport handles more than 75 % of the total passengers for the year and about 70% of aircraft operations.
However the start of the summer s
eason in aeronautics terms is around the beginning of April, whereby air traffic goes on progressively increasing to its peak in August. Hence the traffic at Majorca is then distributed into the four modules at the Mallorca airport.
Module A is typically used for the arrival and departure of non-Schengen countries and those whose origins or destinations require passenger passport control.
During the closure all internati
onal traffic has been carried out in module C, carrying out the same relevant border controls.
Consequently for the third consecutive year the module, together with all 17 boarding gates and accompanying shops and dinners, remained closed over the winter.
Car hire – Car rental at Palma airport isn’t affected by these seasonal closures as car hire companies are based in the main terminal building or car park.
Previous news snippets earlier this year.
05-March
Mallorca experienced one of the worse days of high winds in recent years yesterday.
The wind caused an F18 fighter jet to be blown off course while landing, the pilot dodged several signposts and lighting towers preventing a crash. Palma airport triggered the emergency alarm and several fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene.
Gales of 144 km were logged on the island and an average of 80km in most of Mallorca. The wind caused waves over four meters off the coast and a cruise ship needed over two hours to dock in Palma
At Palma Airport AENA had to close module B (inter-island terminal) as a precaution as two metal plates from the roof came loose due to the strong winds. Passengers were moved to another area and no incidents were reported.
04-March
Judge Ana Maria Palma Cameselle closed the alleged sedition case against Palma airport’s air traffic controllers.
Their illegal strike against modified working conditions paralyzed air traffic in early December 2010 and left thousands of passengers stranded.
The judge postulated that the controllers did not commit sedition because, despite not doing their job they did not leave their jobs. The order is subject to appeal and the case could reopen.
27-Feb
The low-cost carrier Germanwings is to allow passengers from March to use electronic devices even during landing and takeoff, in “airplane mode”.
Operators from Palma de Mallorca airport, Germanwings, join other airlines who have taken this step following the European Commission’s authorization.
21-Feb
Palma de Mallorca Airport now offers a new parking tariff that allows parking vehicles between 5 to 20 days for €69.
This is a flat fee for parking in the main building located opposite the terminal. (1st, 2nd and 3rd floor) Interested users must make an advance reservation online through the official website of Aena – www.aenaparking.com
19-Feb
A trial of drug traffickers got underway yesterday in the provincial court Palma.
The prosecution called for six year prison sentences for bringing large consignments of cocaine to Mallorca.
One courier was caught in November 2012 in Palma airport with 647 grams of cocaine in 130 dates in the intestine.
Brendan Bierley
