Castellon

[djfwells]

I can't decide whether it is laughable incompetence or criminal negligence for this project to have been allowed to continue as far as it has without being checked. Quite possibly both.
The continued wastage at Castellon airport (http://www.tumbit.com/news/articles/4835-the-continued-wastage-at-castellon-airport.html)

[BigFrank]

It's a no-brainer in Spain, I'm very much afraid that I must say.

Especially when the Partido Popular is involved.

Though to be fair PSOE can give them a run for their money in most places.

Sadly in most parts of Spain currently "a run for their money" means a run to the bank to pocket the government monies and put them in one's own pocket. Or at a pinch that of one's political party or trade union or quango.


Locals seem wholly inured to the process which has been going on for decades at least ( ¿ centuries ? )without anyone in authority as much as batting an eye-lid.

Though to be fair, near Castelló, in the Caso Gürtel corruption case they did take decisive action. They punished the fiscal involved and they let off the corrupt politician by a minimum split decision of the jury men at the trial.

¿ Amazing ?

[captplaystation]

The statue is the final p1ss-take. . . . . some of these guys just don't know when it is decent to act like a cat & bury your sh1t.

If it wasn't such a scandalous "misappropriation" of public funds it would be laughable. . . . but, I doubt the 5 point something million unemployed get the joke.

[djfwells]

The Regional Politicians of Castellon, Spain, have acknowledged that their airport is "an international joke"
Castellon Airport 'An International Joke' (http://www.tumbit.com/news/articles/4860-castellon-airport-an-international-joke.html)

[captplaystation]

Another thread running on "airlines airports & routes", but this should , in any case , be widely publicised, as it sucks :=

20 odd% unemployed, 52% of 18-25yr old unemployed, 5 and a bit million without work, schools and hospitals are really quite cr@p, & sh1ts like this can steal public money at will. :mad: :}

[paully]

Sorry to be political but this is what happens when the Socialists are allowed to take power :ugh:

[BigFrank]

Nothing like ignorance ?
OK, prejeudice is ignorance's only real rival.

Though "prejeudice + ignorance" = an unrivalled concoction; makes Buckie seem like Irn Bru.

Just for your information, straight opposite the unused airfield in Castelló there is a statue to the local politician who pulled the government financial strings and who got it built.

Senyor Carles Fabra i Carreras: local boss or capo as they say in Sicilia, of the Partido Popular i.e (extreme) right wing, free market, pro-capitalist, pro-bungs in brown paper bags political party.

[TSR2]

A major problem has been discovered with the airports new runway which will require a substantial portion to be dug-up. The runway was constructed with no aircraft turning circle and the runway itself is not wide enough for jet aircraft to turn on.

This problem was identified last April and a 4 million Euro loan arranged to resolve. However, the work has still to be started.

[compton3bravo]

Have to take umbridge catplaystation regarding Spanish hospitals. My partner has just had a replacement hip operation in a Costa del Sol hospital and the service, staff, food etc. could not have been bettered. Free parking - yes free parking and no hassle with ´where do think youre going jobsworths´´. There is a lot wrong with Spain as in most European countries - I include the UK in that - but it is all that bad you know.

[paully]

"When socialists take power...."
Nothing like ignorance ?
OK, prejeudice is ignorance's only real rival.

Though "prejeudice + ignorance" = an unrivalled concoction; makes Buckie seem like Irn Bru.

Just for your information, straight opposite the unused airfield in Castelló there is a statue to the local politician who pulled the government financial strings and who got it built.

Senyor Carles Fabra i Carreras: local boss or capo as they say in Sicilia, of the Partido Popular i.e (extreme) right wing, free market, pro-capitalist, pro-bungs in brown paper bags political party. 17th Feb 2012 21:51


Most people in Spain dont seem to share your view Frank, they booted the Socialists out....big time

[Phalconphixer]

Most people in Spain dont seem to share your view Frank, they booted the Socialists out....big time...

...in exactly the same way and for exactly the same reasons as Labour was voted out in the last UK elections.

The average voter here never really wanted a return to the politics of the PP anymore than the UK's Mr. Average really wished for a return to the politics of the Conservatives, but, like the UK, when you have only two choices and the other guys seem to have screwed up, the electorate don't have a lot of choice. Do you vote for more of the same or more of the same with different faces?

The whole point is that it really doesn't matter who was in power when the financial world went to r*t****, it was a foregone conclusion that they would lose the next election because of the draconian measures necessary to attempt to recover.

So as always... Meet the new boss, same as the old boss... Three months in office and already the PP have done 180's and are backtracking rapidly...

[BigFrank]

Indubitably the Spanish electorate in its wisdom booted out the socialists; big time.

Though as one other person has observed, their replacement non-socialists started by doing the exact opposite of what they had said they would i.e. raising taxes.


Still more interesting is the fact that when the judicial authorities brought one of Senyor Fabra' s main party colleagues Senyor Camps, until recently PM of the whole Valencia Region, to court, the jury let him off (in the Gürtel Case) despite overwhelming evidence against him including phone-tapping evidence where he discussed the bribes he was receiving with the "man with the moustache" who provided the brown paper bag (and its contents. Natch !)


Fortunately most of the other figures involved have not yet been let off and will (eventually) come to trial including Señor Gürtel himself who was a very very very close associate of the previous Spanish PM from the (extremely) right wing Partido Popular viz Señor Aznar Lopez. If I am not mistaken he (Gürtel) was invited to the wedding of Aznar's second daughter near Madrid only a few weeks ago ! Having previously featured prominently in the wedding for the first one about 7 years ago now.

And as I said before, it was almost exclusively PP politicians who built this non-operative non-airport

[djfwells]

It just doesn't get any better, does it ?
Releasing Airport Concessions from Contract may Bankrupt Castellon Airport (http://www.tumbit.com/news/articles/4871-releasing-airport-concessions-from-contract-may-bankrupt-castellon-airport.html)
I far from being an expert, but I have no idea at all what the solution to this whole sorry mess might be

[djfwells]

Hilarious ! it seems that pretty much everybody is offering their services to run this shambolic excuse for an airport now !
Hoteliers group offers to manage Castellon airport (http://www.tumbit.com/news/articles/4916-hoteliers-group-offers-to-manage-castellon-airport.html)

[eu01]

http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/478208-castellon.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/477549-castellon.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/477233-castellon-airport-valencia.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/475891-castellon.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/473792-castellon-airport.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/470320-castellon.html

Congratulations! Not a single aircraft flying there, yet six different threads on precisely the same issue. Such way of sticking to the rules of discussion can make even the EU protagonist hesitate, as such attitudes towards everything seem to be widespread in some countries, concerning not only benign conversation on this forum, but also things like diplomacy and politics, discipline, tidiness, commitments, decision making, implementation of agreements and, possibly in the first place, the economy.

[djfwells]

Spain has invested 413 Million Euros in the quietest 12 airports in the country over the last 10 years - over half of which are nowhere near to being profitable !
AENA invest 413 Mln Euros in quietest airports (http://www.tumbit.com/news/articles/4927-aena-invest-413-mln-euros-in-quietest-airports.html)

[davidjohnson6]

djfwells - this forum works on the principle of threads. Each thread is about a topic and allows discussion of a topic to be held in one place.

You seem to regularly create new threads for just a single post. Could you please instead post all discussion about overspending at Spanish airport to one or two consolidated threads.

Would make it easier for those who are interested in your posts to discuss in a single place and avoid annoying those who are not interested.

A scatter gun approach of dozens of threads just makes everyone fed up with you

[Cyrano]

I'd echo that, and add a friendly hint of how to do this just in case it's not clear: don't press the "New thread" button, but instead go up to the "Search" menu item and type in the subject of interest ("Castellón" for example). Choose one of the several ;) resultant threads, go into that and then hit "Reply".

There is some interesting stuff going on with Spanish airports and your input is appreciated, but consolidating discussion in one thread (as dj6 says) makes life easier for everyone.

[davidjohnson6]

Hmm - maybe I could learn to be a bit less grumpy sometimes...

[IJM]

davidjohnson6 - what you and Cyrano stated above was absolutely fair! :ok:

I am unsure why there have been 6 separate threads started on Castellon Airport, since late November 2011 ?!

[wowzz]

I think part of the problem is that there are so many Spanish airports that are basically defunct, that it is difficult to know which thread to use. Perhaps a new one entitled - 'Aeropuertos terminados' ?

[djfwells]

Aerocas - the private owner of Castellon airport - is refusing to pay licences to the Town Hall's upon whose land the airport is built
Aerocas refuse to pay licence for Castellon Airport construction (http://www.tumbit.com/news/articles/4970-aerocas-refuse-to-pay-licence-for-castellon-airport-construction.html)

[eu01]

Memory loss?

http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/479210-castellon.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/478208-castellon.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/477549-castellon.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/477233-castellon-airport-valencia.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/475891-castellon.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/473792-castellon-airport.html
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/470320-castellon.html

[davidjohnson6]

Apologies for taking this thread out of hibernation, but does Castellon airport have any prospect of seeing commercial passenger traffic (scheduled or charter) in the next 2 years or so ?

[TSR2]

but does Castellon airport have any prospect of seeing commercial passenger traffic (scheduled or charter) in the next 2 years or so ?

I doubt it. With the Valencia Region awaiting a 3.5bn Euro bailout, the new 26bn Euro hospital still not open some three years after completion, and an unemployment level of 27%, I think the airport would be low down on any priority list. But there again, we are taking about Spain.

[insuindi]

Spain to close up to 30 state-run airports - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9288873/Spain-to-close-up-to-30-state-run-airports.html)

That's the latest I read about the Spanish airports, maybe a news search can help to find out what has happened since to these closure plans (despite being not an Aena airport, Castellon is mentioned in article).

Just wondering whether "closure" is actually the correct word when talking about an airport where never a single plane has landed.

[wowzz]

I have a feeling that this thread could well be combined with the Corvera thread in due course !
It would be funny but for the money involved, plus of course for those whose land was 'requisistioned' for the airport and are still waiting for payment.

[djfwells]

Says it all really...
Happy Birthday Castellon Airport ! (http://www.tumbit.com/news/articles/7106-happy-birthday-castellon-airport.html)

[compton3bravo]

Castellon airport has been given its operating licence by the Spanish authorities and the first flight landed last week - a Robinson R44 from a nearby flying club.
The airport will be operated by SNC-Lavalin a Canadian company under a 20 year contract from the Valencian government. Full commercial operations are due to commence in March next year and the airport hopes to handle 35,000 passengers in 2015 although no scheduled or charter services have yet been announced.