Podemos escalates threat to boycott Alicante-Elche airport expansion

Podemos has intensified its stance against Pedro Sánchez's government by confirming its consideration to vote against the Sustainable Mobility Law, a crucial regulation that will, among other things, set the course for Aena's new plan (DORA III) and future investments in the Alicante-Elche airport Miguel Hernández.

The general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, stated that the boycott against the law allowing infrastructure expansion is due to the lack of communication from the government before the Congress plenary debate.

"Yesterday, Minister Óscar Puente told me he would call today, but he hasn't yet, which leads me to believe that the Spanish government is not particularly concerned about passing the Mobility Law," Belarra declared.

The leader reminded that Podemos has been opposing the law for weeks, considering it "not ambitious enough in combating climate change" and for not including the halting of expansions at El Prat airport and Valencia Port, conditions they demand to maintain their support.

Aena's DORA III Plan (2027-2031) includes the strategic planning of Spain's main airport infrastructures, including the Alicante-Elche airport Miguel Hernández. This plan is directly supported by the Sustainable Mobility Law, which establishes the foundations for decarbonised transport and the intermodality of major logistics hubs.

A collapse of the law, driven by Podemos's boycott, would leave the government without a regulatory framework for Aena's new investment cycle and could delay expansion or technical adaptation projects at airports like Alicante, which in 2024 recorded record passenger traffic figures, exceeding 18.4 million annually.

Podemos's vote, leaning more towards "no" than abstention, could be decisive. With PP and Vox already against, the opposition bloc would total 174 votes, complicating the approval of the regulation if support from other minor parties does not materialise.

The government of Pedro Sánchez hopes to redirect the negotiation 'in extremis', although parliamentary sources warn that Junts's support is not yet secured, despite announced agreements to subsidise municipal projects in Catalonia with funds linked to the law itself.