A report written by a local newspaper has suggested that the government of Murcia is looking to set up flights to Madrid and Barcelona from San Javier, as well as other potential airports. The government is said to be hoping to convince airlines of the viability of these routes in the coming weeks and months. This announcement comes with just under five weeks before the opening day of Corvera Airport on the 15th of January 2019.
According to the report, the department of Development and Infrastructure in the regional government of Murcia believes that demand for seats on flights to and from Murcia and Madrid would be sufficient enough from Corvera Airport to not need subsidising. In other regions across Spain, flights to and from Madrid are subsidised by the regional government to maintain the routes as part of “Public Service Obligations”. There are currently 27 subsidised services such as this across Spain, including Extremadura and Andalucía.
The last flights operated between San Javier and Madrid ceased two years ago when they were cancelled by Iberia Regional-Air Nostrum. The airline stopped running the service on the grounds of insufficient demand after almost 20 years.
However, two airlines have already expressed interest in operating services to and from Barcelona and Madrid. Volotea has previously been reported as being interested in adding flights to Barcelona to their already existing list of flights planned for next summer between Corvera and the region of Asturias. Vueling, a low cost Spanish airline has also expressed interest in the same route, according to a recent report.
