This weekend, from the Alicante terminal more than 1,600 flights were operated, a hundred more than last year. In this way, the Alicante-Elche Airport Starts pure and hard summer, because the high season for Aena goes from Holy Week until October. Thus, the forecast is that Miguel Hernández manage an average close to 400 movements every day during July and August, which will mean a transit of two million users per month.
With these thick figures, the Department of Infrastructure and Environment It still does not present an integral solution and with guarantees to attend to the thousands of passengers who will pass through the airfield the next few days. That plan to respond to tourists and residents waiting for a taxi, a bus or whatever it was to reach its destination has not arrived in time for the summer. That image caused outrage in the tourism sector that, already with foot in July, seems to resign to do what you can with the three provisional actions that were agreed in September 2024.
In addition, from the General Directorate of Transport, a monitoring of which little or nothing has transcended was announced. In short, the waters were calmed and, after ten months, the pressure is accentuated on the agents that manage the services and the AENA operator itself. Since then, the Autonomous Administration ensures that periodic meetings have been held with the Ilicitano City Council, taxi drivers and the airport entity.
Night concern
The starting point translates into the season starting with the increase of the 24 taxis licenses that have occurred in Elche, ten licenses for VTC -cuatro for Cabify and six for Uber- and the increase in connection bus frequencies with the city of Alicante during the day (from 7 to 7 pm) that passed from every 20 to every 15 minutes. Thus, the concern has moved to the night, where the frequency passes to every half hour and from midnight at every hour.
As soon as taxis, the situation is due to the logical rest of the staff. José Javier López, President of Radio Taxi Elche, he acknowledges that “as the Alicante-Elche terminal is a base airport, it causes arrival at night and is the most delicate moment.”
Image of August 1 of people waiting for a taxi at the Alicante-Elche airport. / Áxel Álvarez
López says that “the 24 new licenses with which they are already operated have helped and we believe that the service has been improved. Also from the association a person has been hired and we want to hire a second, which is physically in the airport and facilitates both information to users and helps us coordinate the service.” It will be the first time that it operates with 228 licenses. “From Monday to Wednesday, we are not seeing queues, the problems detect that they can take place on weekends,” he adds.
The president of the Ilicitana group comments that weekly Aena facilitates a forecast of arrivals to have a reference, but despite this perspective of trying to be optimistic, López admits that the pressure remains on the roof of those who is there. In this sense, Elche Public Services Councilor, Claudio Guilabert He claims a “change in the regional regulations of seasonal licenses that limits a taxi per thousand inhabitants. In the case, at least Elche, with an airport of more than 15 million passengers, we believe that it should be modified.”
The popular mayor recalls that for a year the Driver transport vehicles (VTC) and that, from the Consistory, information campaigns have been made about this service. Guilabert It refers to the file that AENA approved to grant ten licenses, which have a small space to operate at the airport arrivals plant.
No reciprocity in sight
One of the solutions to which there was already a non -blunt, both City Council and a taxi driver, to generate a joint work area with Alicante. It is what is called reciprocity services and that allows drivers of this type of public transport in different municipalities. In fact, in the region of the Marina Alta, municipalities and associations of Dénia, Xàbia, Gata de Gorgos, Monte Pego area, El Verger, Els Poblets, Ondara and Pedreguer operate, for the second consecutive summer, together.
Guilabert believes that there are other proposals that could give answers and ratify their firm position to go hand in hand with the sector in this regard. In addition to the issue of licenses, the Ilicitano councilor recalls that “a week ago the New summer schedule that will allow much more flexibility and move taxis from the city at certain times “to the terminal.
“There is also the need for the government to make the rail connection, Because this infrastructure will greatly relieve the connection with the rest of the province's cities, “he said. His request is one of the historical demands and is in an embryonic phase even with what does not fit as a short -term solution.
More frequencies
From Aena, last year a request was made to the Consell to dimension the transport to the reality of the terminal. The airport direction itself signaled the stops of the bus lines. In this case, the focus was put on and continues to be in the C-6 line that unites Alicante With the airfield. The General Directorate of Transportation He articulated two measures before summer. The first was to limit the entrance of passengers who did not have destiny the airport or the city and used the bus as if it were an urban and saturated the service. “We had complaints from neighbors who misused the Euipo stop and used the bus without the airport destiny. Now only what is sought is that they go directly from their destination to the airport and vice versa to reserve the squares to those who need it,” they need from the Ministry of Infrastructure.
On the other hand, the company responsible for the service (Vectalia) was asked to use articulated buses to increase the capacity. But it is there, where the solution suggests that the measure falls short, because the introduction of this type of buses is done based on the availability of the fleet. Also because This connection is exclusive to the Alicante capital and leaves services with other populations such as Torrevieja or Benidorm without a regular frequency. At present, the airport has Trips that go to Calp, Dénia, Xàbia, Benidorm, and Torrevieja and a Santa Pola -Aeropuerto – San Vicente del Raspeig connection. There are also lines with Murcia and Cartagena.
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