Residents in Ibiza and Palma over the weekend staged simultaneous demonstrations against airport expansion plans and projected growth in air traffic across the Balearic Islands.The Ibiza march drew around 2,000 people while a separate demonstration in Palma drew around 500, according to Forbes España.
The Ibiza demonstration, organized by the Associació de Joves d’Eivissa, traveled from Passeig de Vara de Rey through the city’s main streets to Reina Sofía Park, where organizers read a manifesto backed by approximately 50 groups.In Palma, protesters marched from the Spanish Government Delegation to the Consolat de Mar, the seat of the Balearic Government.
The protests followed the approval of DORA III, Spain’s airport regulation plan for 2027-2031, which forecasts nearly 50 million annual passengers across the airports of Palma, Ibiza and Menorca by 2031.Separate plans for Ibiza Airport would increase boarding gates from 17 to 32, a project that has drawn heightened scrutiny following the announcement of the first nonstop flight from the US to Ibiza.
The manifesto argued the airport risked becoming a vehicle for growth that would no longer translate into residents’ well-being.Aena, the majority state-owned airport operator, says the project is intended to modernize the terminal and accommodate new European security requirements, and maintains it will not increase runway capacity or the number of hourly aircraft movements.
On the island of Ibiza, demonstrators carried signs reading “For a livable Ibiza” and “Aena a la trena,” which translates roughly to “Aena behind bars.” Palma protesters chanted “No more expansion, no more promotion,” accusing the regional government of advocating tourism restraint while supporting new connections to Abu Dhabi and Canada.Representatives from regional political parties including MÉS per Mallorca, Podemos and Coalició per Mallorca attended, as did former Balearic Government Vice Preside...