Andorra-La Seu Airport may add new destinations beyond Madrid, Palma and Paris

The Government is opening the door to adding new destinations and more frequencies at Andorra-La Seu d'Urgell Airport once connections with Madrid, Palma and Paris are secured.

The Secretary of State for Energy Transition, Transport and Mobility, David Forné, explained this Tuesday in Canillo that the new tender will allow for an expansion of service to be assessed depending on available resources and demand.

The tender specifications set these three routes as minimum connections and provide for a maximum allocation of five million euros for the service. According to Forné, if there is margin left within that amount, companies will be able to propose other destinations.

The immediate priority, however, is to get airlines to submit bids for the tender, which still has an open deadline. The Secretary of State noted that some companies have already picked up the tender documents and that the executive has contacted operators with ATR-type aircraft to facilitate their participation.

Forné defended the tender's budgetary ambition and set as a goal consolidating the infrastructure's growth and turning it into a "reference airport" that improves connectivity for Andorra and La Seu d'Urgell.

Quarterly review of prices and occupancy

The future service will have a monitoring committee that will analyze ticket prices and flight occupancy every three months. This data will be used to assess the addition of more frequencies or new routes depending on demand trends.

The Secretary of State also confirmed that Air Nostrum, which has held the contract for the connections in recent years, will have "the door open" to bid in the new tender.

Forné calls on taxi drivers to join the dispatch center

In parallel, Forné urged taxi drivers working outside the single dispatch center to join it. According to the Secretary of State, professionals operating independently are in breach of the regulations, which state that they must be part of a dispatch center.

"What can't happen is for them to operate on their own", he stated. Forné explained that the Government has met with both the affected taxi drivers and the dispatch center, made up of the sector's two associations, and has provided them with the tools to join it.

The head of Transport noted that regulations allow for the creation of other dispatch centers in the future, but insisted that, as long as there is only one, professionals must join it. He also maintained that Taxi Andorra operates "efficiently," while acknowledging occasional issues with the server.

Government reports more than a 30% reduction in traffic on Carrer de la Unió

Forné also gave an update on the measures taken on Carrer de la Unió. According to him, data from May, June and July show a traffic reduction of more than 30%.

The Secretary of State highlighted that the measures have reduced the number of vehicles and improved traffic flow. In particular, he praised the installation of coordinated traffic lights that work in cascade to improve fluidity.

According to Forné, this measure has helped reduce travel times and improve safety along the street.