Catalan government expenditure on airlines and related infrastructure
As a Catalan resident taxpayer,with a passing non-professional interest in airline travel, the balance of expenditure on both Spanair and Ryanair over against other more necessary public services seems noteworthy.
In my opinion, whilst the massive direct subsidies to Ryanair are mentioned tangentially and infrequently in the local press, the monies to/ for Spanair do not generally even merit such brief coverage.
As for expenditure on infrastructure on the ground,the airport at Lleida is to all intents and purposes empty I believe.
I was in the (old) BCN terminal 2 last night and the place was deserted.
All these monies are justified as maintaining the vital tourist industry and its related jobs in a region where 20% is the unemployment figure but, as always, the issue of priorities and of attempting to use state funds to distort free (sic) markets does seem extremely complex.