Aena's planned reform of Ibiza Airport has become one of the island's most debated infrastructure projects, with businesses and institutions broadly supporting the need to modernise the terminal while environmental groups, some residents' organisations, young people and political groups are calling for stronger limits on airport growth.

The debate comes ahead of a demonstration scheduled for Sunday, September 20, against what organisers describe as an airport expansion.

At the centre of the dispute is a basic question: is the project primarily a modernisation of an existing airport, as Aena says, or does the wider programme create infrastructure capable of handling substantially more passengers in the future?

At present, the final construction project has not been drafted, and the works themselves have not been tendered. This means some of the longer-term consequences being discussed remain projections rather than established outcomes.

What Aena is actually proposing

Aena's current project for Ibiza Airport forms part of the DORA III investment programme for 2027-2031.

The investment allocated to Ibiza is €229.7 million.

The planned works include increasing the number of boarding gates from 17 to 32, creating a new pier for passengers travelling outside the Schengen area, installing eight additional passenger boarding bridges and renewing the departure lounge.

The project also includes new automated security equipment, improvements for passengers with reduced mobility, upgraded toilets and rest areas, a new passenger terrace and a larger VIP lounge.

Aena says these changes are required partly because existing airport arrangements need to be adapted to European border-control requirements.

Aena says the runway capacity will not increase

One of the most important points in the controversy is the distinction between terminal capacity and aircraft-movement capacity.

Aena has repeatedly stated that none of the planned works will increase the number of take-offs and landings that can currently take place per hour.

The airport operator says the capacity of the airfield itself is not being increased.

This means that the project, as currently described by Aena, is not an expansion of the number of aircraft movements the runway system can handle each hour.

Aena also says the larger number of boarding gates is necessary because Schengen and non-Schengen passengers will require separate processing areas and gates cannot be used as flexibly between the two categories.

Why there is still a dispute about passenger capacity

Opponents of the project point to other documents associated with the airport programme.

A report published this week cited tender documentation for future project work and argued that the overall programme goes beyond the terminal improvements presented by Aena in June.

The citizen platform opposing the project has interpreted references in those documents as indicating the possibility of the airport processing more than nine million passengers annually.

That interpretation has become one of the main arguments behind Sunday's demonstration.

However, the existence of infrastructure designed or adapted to improve passenger processing is not, by itself, proof that the airport will actually receive a particular number of passengers. Future passenger volumes depend on airline schedules, demand, operating restrictions and other factors.

The final construction project does not yet exist

Another important point has received less attention in the public debate.

The final construction project has not yet been drafted.

At present, Aena has a functional design and has tendered project-management services that will cover the preparation, tendering and execution of the future works.

The construction works themselves have not yet been tendered.

Consequently, some technical details may still change as the design progresses.

This is why claims about the precise final scale of the completed airport should be treated cautiously.

Businesses broadly support modernisation

The island's business sector has not adopted a single position rejecting the project.

According to the latest reporting, much of the business and tourism sector supports modernising the terminal, particularly improvements related to Schengen border controls, passenger processing and the general condition of the infrastructure.

That support does not necessarily mean businesses are calling for unlimited airport growth.

Several actors have expressed reservations about additional tourist pressure and the need to address the island's wider capacity constraints.

Workers are raising different concerns

Airport workers have also entered the debate, but their concerns are not identical to those of the environmental groups organising Sunday's protest.

The workers' argument focuses particularly on staffing, working conditions and the ability of the airport workforce to operate any expanded or redesigned facilities properly.

This is an important distinction because support for improving the infrastructure does not automatically mean support for increasing tourism or passenger numbers.

GEN-GOB opposes what it describes as expansion

Environmental organisation GEN-GOB has taken a much more critical position.

The group argues that the project would substantially increase the airport's ability to process passengers and says Ibiza is already experiencing excessive pressure on roads, housing, public services and natural areas.

GEN-GOB is calling for the airport's capacity to be reduced rather than expanded.

Those are the organisation's conclusions about the project's consequences, rather than an official determination by Aena or another authority.

PSOE supports modernisation but rejects increased traffic

The Federació Socialista d'Eivissa has also opposed any airport action that it believes would increase operational capacity and therefore facilitate higher passenger and air-traffic levels.

The PSOE's Ibiza organisation nevertheless says the airport needs improvements in safety, accessibility, efficiency and sustainability.

Its position is therefore not opposition to airport maintenance or modernisation itself, but opposition to using the investment to increase airport capacity.

The party has also linked the airport debate to wider questions concerning housing, water, mobility, waste and territorial planning.

The Balearic Government says its request was different

The Balearic Government has intervened directly in the dispute.

On September 18, it published a statement saying that it had written to Aena on May 6 to request that the DORA III investments in Balearic airports not be linked to increases in passenger numbers.

The Government said its requests focused on improvements such as ground mobility, intermodality, infrastructure modernisation, sustainability, climate adaptation and better connectivity, rather than increasing the operational capacity of the islands' airports.

It has therefore rejected interpretations that its earlier proposals were requests for airport expansion.

But the political record is contested

There is also a parliamentary dimension to the dispute.

A June document from the Joint Commission on Insularity of the Congress and Senate included a proposal calling on the Spanish Government to reject the Ibiza airport expansion project and to review airport planning with the aim of reducing high-season capacity.

The proposal cited concerns about territorial, environmental and social carrying capacity.

This parliamentary document demonstrates that opposition to an expansion-oriented interpretation of the project has been formally expressed, but it does not itself establish what Aena's final construction project will contain.

The Consell has also expressed reservations

Consell President Vicent Marí has said that Ibiza needs the airport's infrastructure to be modernised but has also expressed opposition to an expansion aimed at bringing more tourists to the island.

The Consell's position has therefore been more nuanced than a simple rejection of all airport investment.

The island administration has called for improvements to safety, services and infrastructure while questioning additional growth in tourist flows.

Sunday's demonstration

The latest dispute will play out publicly on Sunday, September 20.

The demonstration is scheduled to begin at 18:00 at Vara de Rey in Ibiza Town under the slogan “No a l’ampliació de l’aeroport”.

It was initially promoted by the Associació de Joves d’Eivissa together with environmental and social organisations, and has received support from GEN-GOB, Amics de la Terra, PSOE and UGT Pitiüses, among others.

The demonstration is therefore centred on opposition to what organisers describe as an airport expansion, rather than opposition to every form of investment or maintenance at Ibiza Airport.

What is confirmed and what remains disputed

Several points can be established with relatively little ambiguity.

Aena has allocated €229.7 million to Ibiza Airport under DORA III for 2027-2031.

The planned project includes 32 boarding gates, eight new boarding bridges, a new non-Schengen pier, new security equipment and a major refurbishment of passenger facilities.

Aena says the project will not increase the number of aircraft take-offs and landings possible per hour because the capacity of the airfield is not being increased.

At the same time, opponents argue that the wider infrastructure programme could facilitate higher passenger throughput and contribute to greater tourist pressure.

The final construction project has not yet been drafted, so claims about its eventual maximum passenger capacity should not be presented as a confirmed future operating figure.

The debate is about more than one airport building

The controversy ultimately reflects a wider disagreement over Ibiza's development model.

For Aena, the project is primarily about bringing the airport up to current European standards, improving passenger processing and addressing existing operational problems.

For its opponents, the central question is whether improving the infrastructure without reducing demand could allow tourism pressure to continue increasing.

Those are different approaches to the same infrastructure investment.

For now, the documented position is that Aena is planning a €229.7 million modernisation programme and says it will not increase hourly aircraft-movement capacity, while opponents and some political groups argue that the wider project should not facilitate additional passenger or tourist growth.

The final construction project, and therefore the precise long-term configuration of the airport, remain to be established.