GEN-GOB demands that institutions and political parties oppose the “major expansion” of Ibiza airport

The Grup d’Estudis de la Naturalesa (GEN-GOB) is calling on institutions in Ibiza and across the Balearic Islands, as well as all political parties in the islands, to oppose Aena’s planned expansion of Ibiza airport. The environmental organisation believes the project would amount to a “major expansion” of an infrastructure which, in its view, is already oversized for an island such as Ibiza.

The Grup d’Estudis de la Naturalesa argues that expanding the airport would mean “multiplying all the problems of overcrowding the island already suffers” and maintains that the project “in no way serves the general interest or the needs of residents”.

In a statement, GEN-GOB described Aena’s proposal, made public by local media, as “absolutely insane” and warned that Ibiza “cannot take a single metre more of growth”. The organisation recalls that the island is already facing growing problems of water shortages, lack of housing and pressure on the territory, and therefore considers an expansion of this kind unacceptable.

According to the environmental group, increasing the size of the terminal to the west and east, constructing new buildings and expanding services would lead to an increase in air traffic. For GEN-GOB, that traffic should instead be reduced “considerably” in order to recover some of the social wellbeing and ecological balance lost in recent years.

Area around Ses Salines Natural Park

The organisation also warns of the impact this expansion would have on the area around Ses Salines Natural Park, located next to the airport facilities and which, it recalls, already suffers “serious impacts” due to its proximity to the airport.

GEN-GOB considers the project “a real attack on the island” and argues that it responds “solely to Aena’s economic interests, not to Ibiza’s real needs”. In this regard, it insists that the island’s priority should be to reduce the number of tourists, not to facilitate further increases, especially during the summer months.

The organisation accuses the administrations of contradiction for speaking about sustainability and limiting tourism while an airport expansion is being proposed. “It represents an exercise in total cynicism”, GEN-GOB denounces, linking many of Ibiza’s current problems — water, healthcare, education, housing and public services — to overtourism.

The environmental group also frames its rejection within the context of climate change and criticises what it sees as an “extractivist and short-termist” view of the territory. It also censures the possibility that part of the expansion could be used to serve private jets, a segment it considers to have a “high climate impact” and to be “totally dispensable” for the local tourism industry.

For all these reasons, GEN-GOB is calling on Ibiza and Balearic institutions to issue unfavourable reports and act “at all levels” to stop the project. The organisation is urging public officials to defend “the rights and wellbeing of Ibizans” rather than Madrid’s economic interests. It concludes that political forces must show “with actions” their willingness to combat overcrowding, a problem which, according to GEN-GOB, is already increasing poverty rates and undermining wellbeing in Ibiza.