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While most of Spain's airports are eagerly gearing up to benefit from AENA's historic €13 billion investment plan for 2027 to 2031, one notable name is missing from the list. Murcia's Corvera Airport won't be seeing a single euro of that funding, and the reason has nothing to do with politics or performance.

 

AENA's proposed DORA III framework will invest this fortune in improvements across the Spanish airport network over the next five years, with the overall plan designed to handle a forecast 1.69 billion passengers and keep facilities safe, modern and competitive. But Corvera sits outside that network entirely, and that's the crux of the issue.

 

Unlike the airports that fall under AENA's standard regulatory umbrella, Corvera has operated since it opened in January 2019 under a specific concession arrangement through a dedicated company called SCAIRM, the Concessionary Company of the International Airport of the Region of Murcia. That structure places it firmly outside the system through which state airport investment is distributed, meaning it neither competes for nor benefits from the DORA III pot.

 

The airport is owned by the regional government of Murcia but managed operationally by AENA through that concession agreement, which makes its situation a little unusual.

 

Being left out of DORA III doesn't mean Corvera can't receive investment at all, but it does mean that any future development will depend on a completely different set of factors, including how its passenger numbers grow, how profitable the concession remains and what decisions are taken by both SCAIRM and the regional authorities.

 

That's a very different position to the one enjoyed by airports elsewhere in Spain that are already working out how much of AENA's billions they stand to receive. And given the ongoing row over airport charges that threatens to push up fares and reduce routes at regional airports across the country, Corvera's ability to attract and retain airlines will matter more than ever in the years ahead.

 

Murcia International has started the year strongly, recording a 26.7% increase in passenger numbers for January compared to the same month last year. However, given its rather lacklustre performance since it opened, driving enough growth to attract more investment could be something of a tall order.

 

DORA III still needs to be approved by the Council of Ministers, with a deadline of September this year.

 

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