Lorraine Williamson
Madrid’s Adolfo Suárez Barajas Airport is running out of room. Designed for 70 million passengers a year, it is already topping 60 million and could reach 90 million by 2030.
Queues snake through terminals, expansion plans lag, and the capital’s single-hub model looks dangerously fragile.
Europe shows a different flight path
Other capitals illustrate the gap. Six airports serve London’s nine million residents, while Paris relies on three. Madrid, with more than seven million people and booming international links, depends entirely on one. Aviation analysts warn that without new capacity, the city risks losing routes and business to better-equipped rivals.
Billions at stake in the south
Into this pressure cooker steps Madrid-Sur, a privately promoted plan to build a second airport on the Madrid–Toledo border. Backers estimate a €150 million first phase rising to almost €2 billion over 25 years, promising tens of thousands of jobs in aviation, logistics, tourism, and technology. Business groups see it as a once-in-a-generation chance to rebalance growth towards the southern corridor.
Casarrubios-Álamo: From airfield to hub
Unlike failed “ghost airports”, Madrid-Sur would expand an existing airfield at Casarrubios-Álamo, already hosting 70,000 annual operations and sizeable hangar space. Promoters argue this incremental model—building on real traffic and infrastructure—makes the scheme more credible than the costly white-elephant projects of Spain’s past.
Promise versus politics
Yet after seven years of proposals, the runway remains theoretical. The Transport Ministry has demanded fresh environmental studies, airspace assessments, and financing plans. Without central government sign-off, Madrid-Sur sits in regulatory limbo despite vocal support from the Comunidad de Madrid and regional business networks.
Balancing Barajas and the future
Supporters stress the project would complement, not compete with, Barajas—handling regional flights, business jets, and cargo to free space for long-haul growth. The timing coincides with the Madrid Innovation District, a new tech and defence hub that could generate steady aviation demand. However, rising airport fees and airline cutbacks, including Ryanair route reductions, cast uncertainty over Spain’s wider aviation climate.
A critical test for Spanish infrastructure
Madrid-Sur encapsulates Spain’s infrastructure dilemma: the need for bold capacity upgrades versus the scars of past overbuilding. Whether Casarrubios-Álamo becomes Madrid’s long-awaited second airport—or remains a blueprint—will reveal how Spain balances ambition, economics, and environmental scrutiny in the decade ahead.
Source: Madrid es noticia