Foment Proposes Expanding El Prat By Lengthening The Third Runway 840 Meters Above La Ricarda

The Foment del Treball employer association has put eleven possible solutions on the table to facilitate the increase in long-haul flights at Barcelona airport, an objective shared by the Generalitat, the central government and civil society, but about which there are deep disagreements. as to the way to achieve it.

Among the dozen options that an interdisciplinary commission has analyzed for more than a year, four are considered most viable. And among these, the most notable is to extend the third runway to the east by about 840 meters, elevating it over the La Ricarda lagoon using a platform. This formula has been provided by the members of the commission, chaired by Lluís Moreno, whose results were presented this Monday at an event at the Foment headquarters, and has already met with total rejection from the Port of Barcelona, considering that it puts at risk infrastructure activity.

Pass over La Ricarda “without destroying it”

The employer insisted that it does not prioritize this option above the rest, but the report indicates that lengthening the third runway by 840 meters would allow for a takeoff length of 3,500 meters in total, meaning that all airplanes currently on the market could use it. in any wind and temperature conditions with maximum load. “It seems that the most appropriate proposals are either lengthening” the sea runway “either to the east by 300 or 840 meters, or recovering the independent runways,” he highlights. “Obviously, from an operational point of view, the option of 840 meters to the east guarantees a pure segregated runway configuration,” he continues.

Aircraft maneuvers at Barcelona airport

Joan Mateu Parra/Shooting

This option also affects the protected area of La Ricarda, so it is proposed to go over it “without destroying it” using a structure elevated above the lagoon, 300 meters long and about 200 meters wide. The construction system would be similar to that proposed with the runway over the sea but with the length of the pylons much shorter. With it, says the analysis, an attempt is made to optimize the existing variables to improve the capacity of El Prat (airport and environmental conditions, noise, biodiversity and economic cost).

It also proposes the embankment solution with permeable material. The runway would be raised to a level of 6 meters (it is currently at a level of 3.26 meters) leaving a free space above the surface of water of between 1.6 meters and 2.5 meters. Be that as it may, it would need the approval of Brussels. In this sense, they propose a series of environmental compensations. The ecological report of the report explains that certain areas of the Llobregat delta are “degraded” and are committed to creating a new wetland area in the area of Les Filipines – it would be necessary to expropriate agricultural land –, in addition to regenerating the waters and biodiversity of La Ricarda through various actions.

Foment urges governments to agree on a solution

However, it does not specify the economic cost of this initiative, but estimates that it would exceed Aena’s proposal to extend the runway by 500 meters on an embankment by 200 million euros (extending the runway would entail 263 million of the total of 1.7 billion for the entire project. , which includes the construction of a satellite terminal). Now, he admits that the impact on the port of Barcelona should be evaluated if the sea runway increases by 840 meters.

It is not a trivial topic. The conflict here is served, as the president of the Port, Lluís Salvadó, from ERC, was in charge of showing. The port authority considers that this proposal compromises the “present and future” of the infrastructure, because bringing the takeoffs of large aircraft closer to the east would prevent bringing new Port activity to the south and the work of the taller cranes. Salvadó transmitted these arguments directly to the president of Foment, Josep Sánchez Llibre, in a forceful letter sent on October 20.

Presentation of Foment's conclusions on the expansion of the airport — Presentation of Foment’s conclusions on the expansion of the airport

Alex Garcia

Extending the runway in this way “makes it impossible” to operate the current container terminal at the Prat Dock, and the future transfer of the second container terminal to the future Catalunya Dock, Salvadó stressed. He even described it as “serious” that Foment included this proposal “even though the Port of Barcelona was repeatedly informed of these serious potential effects.” The employers declined to evaluate the letter.

20231023 ampliacion aeropuerto bcn movil

Expansion proposal

from El Prat airport

With a runway of more than 840 meters elevated above The Ricarda

Beacon at the beginning of the runway extension

Expansion potential

The Ricarda: +840m

A natural space

The Ricarda

Start beacon

current track

Sea Track

Current length: 2,880m

Sea Track

Potential total length with extension: 3,500m

Start beacon

current track

A natural space

The Remolar

Source: Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. THE VANGUARD

20231023 ampliacion aeropuerto bcn movil2

Expansion proposal

from El Prat airport

With a runway of more than 840 meters elevated above The Ricarda

Beacon at the beginning of the runway expansion

Expansion potential

The Ricarda: +840m

A natural space

The Ricarda

Start beacon

current track

Sea Track

Current length: 2,880m

Sea Track

Potential total length with extension: 3,500m

Start beacon

current track

A natural space

The Remolar

Source: Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. THE VANGUARD

20231023 ampliacion aeropuerto bcn tableta

Proposal to expand El Prat airport

With a runway of more than 840 meters elevated above The Ricarda

Beacon start of

track expansion

Expansion potential

The Ricarda: +840m

A natural space

The Ricarda

*Geometry of the

extension to be defined

with the study of

operability

Start beacon

current track

Sea Track

Current length: 2,880m

Sea Track

Potential total length with extension: 3,500m

Start beacon

current track

A natural space

The Remolar

Source: Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda. THE VANGUARD

20231023 ampliacion aeropuerto bcn escritorio

To identify the most feasible solutions, the Development commission has evaluated eleven parameters – from airport and air operations, to economic, environmental or political and acoustic costs, among others. Those that obtain the best scores are those already mentioned: extending the runway 300 meters to the east, one hundred meters to the west and 200 to the east, returning to the use of independent runways, and extending 840 meters. The initial Aena (500 meters) is immediately after, followed by the runway over the sea promoted by Joaquim Coello, diverting flights towards Reus and Girona and extending the diagonal runway towards the sea.

As the last options, there are those of building two new parallel runways towards the sea and building a new airport either in the Vilafranca del Penedès area or in Anoia. All of them, except for the 840 meter option, have been advanced by La Vanguardia. However, the report does not enter into the management of El Prat, a historical demand of the Generalitat.

In any case, it is up to the central and Catalan governments to find the optimal solution, said Sánchez Llibre. For the president of Foment, Catalonia cannot afford to turn its back on the extension of its airport. The employers’ association has sent the report to all administrations and political groups, as well as social agents, convinced that it will help to reach a consensus on a position that makes the expansion possible. “It’s now or never”

Conclusions

The eleven proposals

1. Extend the third runway 840 meters to the east with an elevated runway over the Ricarda. Option presented by the Development Commission. The aircraft take-off runway would reach a length of 3,500 meters and the platform would be anchored with pylons. All planes on the market could take off from it in any atmospheric condition but it is conditioned by the proximity to the Port.
2. Extend the third runway 300 meters to the east with an obstacle-free area. It is a solution proposed by Juan Rojas. The length of the runway would be 2,960 meters. This solution is also the proposal recently formulated by Barcelona Global (3,010 meters).
3. Extend the third runway 100 meters to the west and 200 to the east. It is a second solution proposed by Juan Rojas. The new length of the runway would be 2,960 meters. Track control areas (Clear ways) would have to be enabled, although not paved.
4. Use the runways independently again, both for takeoff and landing. A good option from an operational point of view but with a high social and political cost.
5. Extend the runway 500 meters to the east. Aena’s option.
6. Construction of a new runway over the sea of 3,500 meters. Promoted by Joaquim Coello. The commission considers it not viable due to the difficulties of airport operation and the maintenance cost that it would entail.
7. Do not extend and divert flights to Reus and Girona. Foment considers it a very unviable option due to its difficulties in air and airport operations to feed the long haul and legal conditions.
8. Lengthen the diagonal track towards the sea. Presented by Antoni Acebillo. They describe it as “not very viable” due to problems in air operations.
9. Construction of two new parallel runways. Presented by Joaquim Coello, it has also been discarded.
10. New airport in the Vilafranca del Penedès area. Discarded due to its cost.
11. New airport in the Anoia area. Discarded due to its cost.