Aena's plans to remodel Ibiza Airport are facing renewed scrutiny after a citizen platform opposing the airport expansion said recently published tender documents point to a much larger transformation than the project publicly presented by the airport operator earlier this year.

The group says the documents indicate up to 55 planned interventions and argue that the redesigned airport could eventually process more than nine million passengers a year.

However, these figures should not be presented as a confirmed €500 million expansion approved by Aena. The €500 million estimate and the interpretation that the project will increase passenger capacity come from the citizen platform's analysis of Aena's procurement documents.

Aena's own public description of the project has put the investment at around €230 million and says the works are intended primarily to adapt the airport to new European safety requirements, modernise the infrastructure and improve operational efficiency and passenger experience.

Aena's Official Project Is Around €230 Million

Aena announced in June that it was preparing a major remodelling of Ibiza Airport with an estimated investment of approximately €230 million.

The project includes changes to security controls, a centralised passport-control system, separate passenger flows for Schengen and non-Schengen flights and a new boarding area for passengers travelling outside the Schengen area.

The departure area is also due to be renovated, with the number of boarding gates increasing to 32. Other planned improvements include accessibility upgrades, passenger facilities, commercial areas, staff facilities and a larger VIP lounge.

Aena says the project is intended to comply with new European regulations while improving the airport's operation and the experience of passengers.

Aena Says Flight Capacity Will Not Increase

One of the most important points in Aena's public explanation is that the project does not involve increasing the number of aircraft take-offs and landings that can be handled per hour.

During a July meeting with the Consell de Ibiza and other island representatives, Aena explicitly stated that the planned works would not increase the capacity of the airfield.

The airport operator has therefore distinguished between improving and expanding the infrastructure and increasing hourly aircraft movement capacity.

Why the €500 Million Figure Has Emerged

The €500 million figure comes from a citizen platform campaigning against the airport expansion.

According to the group, it has examined two Aena procurement files and believes they reveal a much broader programme of work than the approximately €230 million remodelling publicly described by Aena.

The platform says the documents refer to up to 55 different interventions and include work affecting both the land side and air side of the airport.

These claims are based on the group's interpretation of the tender documentation and should therefore be distinguished from Aena's officially stated investment figure.

Tender Documents Cover More Than the Terminal

Aena's procurement portal confirms that the airport has an active tender relating to the adaptation of the terminal building to a new functional design.

The contract is valued at around €10.1 million net and concerns technical assistance for adapting the terminal building to the new design.

A separate project-management contract has also been tendered. It has a gross tender value of approximately €19.65 million and a five-year execution period, covering the management of projects and works associated with the airport's planned transformation.

The existence of these contracts confirms that Aena is progressing with detailed planning and project-management work. It does not, by itself, establish that the entire €500 million figure cited by the opposition platform has been approved as a final construction budget.

Airside Works Are Also Part of the Debate

The citizen platform has highlighted wording in the procurement documentation referring to work across both the land side and air side of the airport.

It says the documents contemplate interventions involving areas such as aircraft parking, roads, service facilities and the aircraft apron.

At the same time, the documentation and public statements indicate that there is no proposal to extend the runway.

This distinction is important because airport passenger capacity does not depend exclusively on runway length. Terminal processing areas, boarding gates, aircraft stands and other infrastructure can also influence how many passengers an airport can process.

Passenger Capacity Is the Central Dispute

The main disagreement concerns what the planned infrastructure improvements would mean for the airport's eventual passenger-processing capacity.

The citizen platform says the documentation indicates that the redesigned airport could substantially increase its capacity beyond nine million passengers a year.

Aena, however, has publicly framed the project around modernisation, regulatory compliance and operational improvements rather than an increase in hourly aircraft movement capacity.

The distinction between aircraft movement capacity and passenger-processing capacity is at the centre of the current debate.

Ibiza Already Handles More Than Nine Million Passengers

The discussion is taking place against a backdrop of record-level airport traffic.

Ibiza Airport handled 9,138,224 passengers in 2025, an increase of 0.7% compared with 2024.

During the first eight months of 2026, the airport recorded 6,778,163 passengers. August alone accounted for 1,519,201 passengers, 2.5% more than August 2025.

This means the nine-million figure discussed in the current controversy is close to the airport's existing annual traffic rather than representing a completely new scale of passenger numbers.

The Project Is Still in the Planning and Tendering Process

The current documentation does not mean that all of the works have been awarded or that construction of a €500 million programme is about to begin.

Aena has been putting contracts out to tender for engineering, project management and specific airport works.

Its July statement said execution of the main remodelling project is expected to begin from 2030.

The process therefore remains subject to further design, procurement and implementation stages.

Political and Social Opposition Is Growing

The latest controversy comes as opposition to the airport project is becoming more visible on the island.

The citizen platform behind the latest claims is calling for the Govern and Consell to ensure that the airport's future capacity does not increase.

It is also asking for the complete new functional design to be made public, including the full list of planned interventions, their individual budgets and the areas of land affected.

Consell de Ibiza president Vicent Marí has also said that Ibiza needs investment to modernise its airport but has opposed an expansion aimed at attracting more tourists, arguing instead for improvements to infrastructure, access, security and water treatment.

What Is Confirmed and What Is Not

Several elements of the airport project are already clear.

Aena is planning a major remodelling of Ibiza Airport, has begun tendering associated technical and management contracts, and has publicly announced an investment of approximately €230 million.

The project includes significant changes to the terminal, security and passenger-processing infrastructure, while Aena says the number of aircraft movements possible per hour will not increase.

What remains disputed is whether the broader procurement documentation effectively points to a future airport capable of processing substantially more than nine million passengers and whether the total investment across all planned interventions could reach the €500 million claimed by opponents.

Those points should remain attributed to the citizen platform until Aena or the relevant authorities formally confirm them.

A Major Airport Debate for Ibiza

The controversy is therefore not simply about whether Ibiza Airport will be renovated. Aena has already confirmed that a major remodelling is planned.

The unresolved question is the eventual scale and effect of that transformation.

With Ibiza already handling more than nine million passengers annually and new technical and procurement work under way, the debate over whether the airport is being modernised for current needs or prepared for substantially greater passenger volumes is likely to remain a major issue on the island.