Although talk of a new toll motorway to run between the lovely and historic town of Ronda in Andalucia and San Pedro de Alcantara, just 10 kilometres west of Marbella on the Costa del Sol, have been rumbling on for some time, it seems that there may now be a question mark over whether the project ever goes ahead.

Ronda Bridge

The one hour journey between the two towns currently involves negotiating a winding 45 kilometre stretch of road which is consideredto be one of the region’s most hazardous.  If it still goes ahead, the planned new high-speed motorway, meanwhile, would shave the travel time down to just 20 minutes and would not of course incorporate the 365 bends which can be found along the current route.  The plans have, however, met with a degree of opposition from academics and environmentalists which may not only have slowed the project down, but brought it to a complete standstill.

In a report which was published last year, ecologists pointed to the fact that the new motorway would need to cut through the Sierra Bermeja, a European protected site which is due to become a national park, as well as across farmland to the south of Ronda and the chestnut growing areas of the Genal valley.  In addition, there are fears that there could be damage to an important aquifer in the Sierra del Oreganal, north of Benahavis.

Apparently somewhere around 350-400 million euros have been set aside for the project which, it was hoped would be completed by the year 2012, but it now seems that a leading Junta official has admitted that she does not know when the motorway will be built and there may even be doubts as to whether it will go ahead at all.  The alternative proposal which was put forward by the objectors included work to make the existing road safer and faster, as well as to improve the rail service between Ronda and Malaga which would remove the need for workers to use their cars.

Image of Ronda bridge by Papalars on Flickr

Although for many others the inauguration ceremony for Malaga Airport’s new Terminal 3 will stick in their minds for other reasons, unfortunately for Spain’s King Juan Carlos, it is more likely to be remembered as the day when the world’s press captured him stumbling as he made his way on stage to make his address.

Accompanied by Queen Sofia, the country’s monarch officially opened the new terminal at a ceremony on Monday 15th March which was attended by around 500 people including some of the country’s top officials.  In his speech, King Juan Carlos congratulated all those who had helped to bring the project to a successful conclusion and stated that he believes that the new terminal will have a great impact in helping to make Malaga, and indeed the region of Andalucia, more dynamic, as well as stimulating tourism in the area.

Described by the king as being the oldest airport in Spain to still remain on its original site, the architecture of the new terminal is certainly not something from a bygone era.  In fact, King Juan Carlos, in his congratulation of the architect and builders, referred to the architecture as being ‘agile, luminous and transparent’.

Costing more than 300 million euros to design and construct, the new Terminal 3 will double Malaga Airport’s capacity, enabling it to handle 9,000 passengers per hour through its 180 check-in desks and 48 boarding gates.  With the decision to take flights mainly from the Schengen countries into the new terminal, however, passengers travelling on low-cost flights from the UK will still mainly arrive at the old Terminal 2.

The first passengers to leave Malaga Airport through the new terminal were scheduled to fly to Barcelona on the morning of Tuesday 16th March at 6.50am.

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As one of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe, particularly for the British, Spain has always been well-serviced in terms of flights.  Not only do the summer months see thousands of aeroplanes taking off from most of the UK’s airports to a variety of destinations in Spain and, of course, to the Costa del Sol, but low-cost flights are easily available throughout the course of the year.  With not only holidaymakers, but also those who make their permanent or temporary homes in Spain flitting backwards and forwards, convenience in terms of UK departure points is clearly uppermost in the minds of airlines.  In its bid to tap into this huge market, therefore, British Airways has announced additional flights from London City Airport.

The end of March this year will see the launch of BA’s year-round service into Barcelona, which formerly only operated throughout the summer months.  In addition, an extra service leaving on Saturday mornings will begin with effect from May, bringing the total number of BA flights out of London City Airport up to seven per week.  With huge demand from both business and leisure passengers wishing to fly direct into Barcelona, and with London City Airport being a particularly convenient departure point for many, the new flights are likely to be an extremely attractive option for large numbers of travellers.

British Airways already operates regular flights into Spain’s capital, Madrid, as well as offering a year-round schedule from London Heathrow direct into the Costa del Sol’s Malaga Airport.

While flexibility and convenience are of course important to holidaymakers wishing to spend a few weeks in Spain, they are also huge considerations for those looking to live for part or all of the year in the country.  Flights back to the UK need to be readily available for those pleasurable and not so pleasurable events that life sometimes presents us with, and with such a huge range of services being offered by so many different airlines at excellent prices, this is undoubtedly one of the reasons why Spain and the Costa del Sol have remained a firm favourite.

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