TERUEL AIRPORT INVESTS 2 MILLION EUROS IN EXPANDING INFRASTRUCTURE

Three years since its opening, the airport platform of Teruel, known as Platform PLATA, faces the future with optimism. The business grows and this year will invest more than two million euros to expand its facilities, unique in Europe, designed not to carry passengers and goods, but include the aircraft parking, maintenance and recycling.

PLATA is a strange airport. Unlike small provincial airfields, languishing without passengers or some activity, they need to expand its facilities because the current is not enough to provide the services they on which base his business.

So, this year it will invest 1.35 million euros in pavement aircraft parking with pads 11, which will run a company by Elecnor and Benito Arno. He also allocated another 785,000 euros to build a new hangar and 70,000 euros in a fiber optic line to improve airport communications.

Its CEO, Alejandro Ibrahim, has no doubts in stating that "in the short time it has been operating, the airport is internationally known and successful; we receive flights from all over the world, with continued growing in aircraft".

PLATA is 340 hectares, the biggest aircraft parking in Europe; its runway of 2.8 kilometers, allowing the landing of any large aircraft and its climate is dry and clear and exceptional flying planes and very food for aircraft conservation. Just across the Atlantic, in the US, there is a similar facility but with no environmentally friendly use.

AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT OF 42 MILLION

It was promoted by the city of Teruel, which gave the grounds of a former military airfield and the Government of Aragon, which remain the owners. It was screened in 2003 and operates from March 2013, after receiving an investment of 42 million, far from the 500 million it cost to the Ciudad Real Airport, 150 million of Castellón, 95 million of Lleida or 80 million of León.

Its main customer is Tarmac Aragón, a company owned by Airbus, Suez Environment and Safran, specializing in the arcraft parking, maintenance and recycling activity. It began operating in 2009 at the Tarbes Airport in France, and has expanded into Teruel, where it already serves the triple of aircraft in the neighboring country. It is the largest company in Europe in its field.

PLATA has an agreement with Tarmac for 25 year. During this time, they receive a concession fee of 1.25 million euros per year. Still not seen full growing annually- but fully paid the sixth year. In addition, the pavement of the parking now also bears widely the tarmac at a rate of 3% annually.

With the main source of revenue, operating income of the airport during 2015 was 850,000 euros, while expenditure totaled 900,000 euros. Ibrahim boasts that in just two years has exceeded revenue to 16 Spanish airports network and its forecasts are good and are getting income from other activities, such as helicopters, general Aviation, RPAS, flight school, rockect engines and aerospace research. In addition. this year features a British school of pilots of commercial aircraft, Flying Time Aviation.