Corvera costs Murcia EU22,000 per day

The region of Murcia's Corvera Airport is about to enter it's third summer season of being stood idle, after completion of the construction phase of the facility in spring 2012, and at a cost of more than EU250 Mln.

Despite having an operational airport already, tourism chiefs and regional politicians claimed that San Javier airport would be unable to cope with ambitions for growing the number of visitors to the area in coming years.

Corvera airport was designed to accommodate some 3 Million passengers and 23,00 flights per year - more than double the busiest years seen at San Javier airport - with plans in place to increase the capacity to 14 Million passengers and 109,000 operations across 2 new phases in subsequent years. 

The inference here being that San Javier airport was restricting the number of tourists hoping to travel to the region, and not that Murcia had simply reached saturation point as a tourist destination.

Also : With Spain as a whole welcoming an all-time record 21.7 Million tourists in the first 5 months of 2014, what make Murcia so sure it can provide the infrastructure, accommodation and attractions for around 25% of all tourists coming to Spain each year ?

Recent estimations are that Corvera Airport is costing Murcia some €22,00 per day / €8 million per year, due to the Regional Government assuming responsibility for the €182 Million loan guarantee.

Having to pay for the luxury of an unwanted, and unrequired second airport is one thing - the fact that it is still not operational, and unlikely to reach projected visitor numbers is another.

Source: click here