The Balearic Government says Ibiza needs clear limits on future growth, with Vice-President Antoni Costa describing the island as a “fragile and limited territory” that cannot continue expanding indefinitely.

Costa made the comments during Tuesday’s plenary session of the Balearic Parliament, in response to questions from Socialist MP Álex Pitaluga about the territorial model being pursued for Ibiza.

The debate comes as controversy continues over Aena’s plans to remodel and expand the island’s airport infrastructure.

Costa says Ibiza cannot grow indefinitely

During the parliamentary debate on September 22, Costa said the Govern’s model for Ibiza is based on limiting growth because of the island’s territorial constraints.

He described Ibiza as a “fragile and limited” territory and said it could not grow indefinitely.

Costa presented this as a policy approach shared with the Consell d’Eivissa.

Vehicle limits are already in place

One of the measures Costa referred to is Ibiza’s system controlling the number of vehicles entering and remaining on the island during periods of peak tourist pressure.

The legal framework was established through the 2024 Law on controlling vehicle flows in Ibiza.

For 2026 and 2027, the Consell established a daily ceiling of 17,668 vehicles during the restriction period, after reducing the previous maximum by 2,500 vehicles.

The system also includes a specific daily ceiling of 14,000 rental vehicles without a driver during the restricted period.

The restriction period covers the summer

The vehicle-control system is designed to operate during the period of greatest tourist pressure.

For 2026, the restriction period runs from June 1 through September 30.

The Consell's stated objective is to reduce congestion and manage the number of motor vehicles present on the island during the busiest part of the year.

The system was created under regional legislation but is implemented by the Consell d’Eivissa.

Costa also addressed the airport

Airport capacity was another central part of Costa’s response.

The vice-president reiterated what he described as a firm position against an uncontrolled expansion of Ibiza Airport.

His comments came only two days after thousands of people took part in a demonstration in Ibiza Town opposing Aena’s airport plans.

The Delegación del Gobierno estimated attendance at around 5,000 people, while organisers and other groups provided substantially higher figures.

Aena describes the project as a modernisation

Aena has maintained that the airport project is principally intended to modernise the infrastructure and adapt it to new European security and border-control requirements.

In July, Aena told island institutions that the project would not increase the capacity of the airport’s airfield or the number of take-offs and landings that can be handled per hour.

The company has also described the works as improvements to operational efficiency, safety and passenger experience.

The passenger-capacity question is more complicated

There is, however, an important distinction between runway or airfield capacity and the number of passengers an airport can process.

Aena's June 2026 project-management tender covers a five-year programme of works and includes a major redesign of the terminal.

The project includes increasing the number of boarding gates from 17 to 32, adding eight new passenger boarding bridges and reorganising several areas of the terminal.

Separate tender documentation reviewed in connection with the project states that the planned infrastructure improvements could increase the airport’s capacity substantially above nine million passengers a year.

That creates an important distinction between Aena’s statement that airfield capacity will not increase and the separate issue of terminal and passenger-processing capacity.

Ibiza handled more than nine million passengers in 2025

The airport already operates at a very high level of annual traffic.

Aena recorded 9,138,224 passengers at Ibiza Airport in 2025, an increase of 0.7% from the previous year.

The airport also handled 85,086 aircraft movements during the year.

Those figures provide the current baseline for the debate over the scale of any future increase in airport capacity.

Costa links the airport debate to the territorial model

For Costa, the question is not only how an airport operates but how Ibiza manages the wider effects of population and visitor growth.

His comments connected airport policy with other measures already being applied to manage pressure on the island, including vehicle restrictions.

The underlying issue raised during the parliamentary debate was what level of tourism and population growth Ibiza can accommodate while maintaining its infrastructure and resources.

Pitaluga raised concerns about urban development

Socialist MP Álex Pitaluga challenged the Govern over its territorial policies.

During the debate, he referred to the Balearic Government’s extraordinary legalisation procedure for certain existing buildings and uses on rustic land.

He argued that the policy was contributing to a model involving large properties in rural areas.

Those comments were part of the political debate and represent Pitaluga’s assessment of the effects of the legislation.

The urban legalisation procedure does exist

The underlying legislation does provide an extraordinary route for legalising certain existing buildings, constructions, installations and uses on rustic land where the action to restore urban legality is no longer enforceable.

The procedure is subject to specific exclusions and conditions and is not a blanket authorisation for all illegal construction.

For example, the legislation excludes various categories of protected or restricted situations, including certain activities involving prohibited uses and specific environmentally sensitive areas.

Housing in Ca n’Escandell was also discussed

The parliamentary exchange also moved to the 532 protected homes planned for Ca n’Escandell in Ibiza Town.

Costa reiterated that the homes must comply with the Balearic Housing Law and said they would be for people who have established at least five years of residence in the Balearic Islands.

The current law provides a minimum five-year residency requirement for access to protected or publicly protected housing, with residents of the municipality where a public development is located receiving preference.

The legislation also contains exceptions and provisions for homes that cannot be allocated to applicants meeting the initial residency requirement.

Costa responds to criticism over residents’ access

The housing issue followed recent political controversy over statements concerning whether locally resident people would receive priority for the Ca n’Escandell development.

Costa said the current Balearic housing legislation would apply to the development.

That means the eligibility framework should be understood in legal terms rather than as a separate special rule created specifically for Ca n’Escandell.

The airport disagreement remains unresolved

Costa’s comments do not change Aena’s existing airport project.

Aena continues to describe the works as a major modernisation programme, while the documentation for the project includes infrastructure changes that can affect the airport’s passenger-processing capacity.

The disagreement therefore concerns not only physical construction but also the consequences that increased infrastructure capacity could have for future passenger numbers.

A major investment is planned

Aena’s June project-management contract was put out to tender at €16.24 million with a 60-month execution period.

That contract covers the management and coordination of the different projects, from design and tendering through construction and commissioning.

The wider airport investment programme has subsequently become one of the central points of debate over Ibiza’s future tourism model.

The island has already reached a new traffic level

The airport debate is taking place against a backdrop of sustained tourism and population pressure.

Ibiza Airport exceeded nine million passengers in 2025, while the Consell is simultaneously operating a legal system designed to restrict the number of vehicles present during the busiest months.

For the Govern, these measures fit into a wider strategy aimed at managing pressure on an island with limited territory and infrastructure.

A question of capacity, not simply construction

The debate is increasingly focused on what the infrastructure will allow rather than simply how much concrete is added.

Increasing boarding gates, passenger bridges and terminal space can improve the passenger experience and help an airport operate more efficiently.

At the same time, larger passenger-processing infrastructure can potentially accommodate greater traffic, which is why the distinction between airfield capacity and overall airport capacity has become central to the controversy.

The September 20 demonstration

The parliamentary debate followed a major demonstration in Ibiza Town on September 20.

The march, organised by the Associació de Joves d’Eivissa and supported by a broad range of organisations, was held in opposition to Aena’s airport plans.

The Delegación del Gobierno estimated that around 5,000 people attended, while organisers and some participating organisations put the figure considerably higher.

The demonstration included representatives and supporters from different political and civic groups, reflecting the breadth of the debate rather than a single political position.

Aena has not announced a change to the project

Following the demonstration, Aena did not announce any change to its plans.

The company had already said that the project would not increase the number of aircraft movements possible through the airfield, while its planned terminal works are intended to accommodate modern security requirements and improve operations.

The question of future passenger capacity therefore remains one of the most contested elements of the project.

What Costa is proposing

Costa’s comments amount to a stated policy position rather than a new legal restriction announced during the parliamentary session.

His message is that Ibiza's future development must recognise the physical limits of the island.

He pointed to vehicle regulation and his opposition to what he described as uncontrolled airport expansion as examples of the approach the Govern supports.

What happens next

The airport project is continuing through Aena’s planning and procurement process, while the political debate over its scale remains active.

The Consell’s vehicle restrictions are already in force during the 2026 summer period, and the legal framework establishes a vehicle ceiling for both 2026 and 2027.

Meanwhile, the Balearic Government and the Consell remain responsible for different parts of the island’s territorial, tourism and mobility policy.

Ibiza’s growth debate is entering another phase

The latest parliamentary exchange shows that Ibiza’s future growth is now being discussed through several connected issues: airport capacity, road congestion, housing, land use and the pressure placed on limited island resources.

Costa says the island cannot grow indefinitely.

Opposition politicians, meanwhile, continue to challenge aspects of the Govern’s planning and housing policies.

The airport project has become one of the clearest points where those competing approaches meet.

For Ibiza, the central question now is not simply how the island can accommodate more activity, but where the legal and infrastructural limits of that growth should be drawn.