The Boss has heard about it too!
http://www.eyeonspain.com/blog/2006/04/antequera-airport-new-hotspot.html
News item dated 16th March:
PROPOSALS TO BUILD AN AIRPORT IN ANTEQUERA APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN GIVEN A BOOST LAST WEEK WHEN THE MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT WAS REPORTED TO HAVE AWARDED THEM A FAVOURABLE RECEPTION.
However, the Ministry’s agency Aena, which operates several Spanish airports, moved quickly to deny any such authorisation.
Early last week, the town’s Mayor, Ricardo Millán, reported that, for the first time, Aena had said the project was compatible with Málaga’s Pablo Ruiz Picasso Airport. He said it had also described as “viable” the airport’s functioning, from a technical point of view.
However, by the weekend, Aena was denying that it had given any view to the Mayor regarding the proposed airport’s compatibility or viability. Aena pointed out that the project had only been under consideration by them for fewer than 10 days and that, “these kind of studies take months to complete”.
The private airport, which is being promoted by an investment group in Antequera, would be built on a 10 hectare site by the A-45 road, and would require a major revision of the town’s urban ordinations. Plans include hangars and support buildings for large and small commercial aircraft, a heliport, a flying school, a golf course, a commercial centre and car parking, as well as a residential area of 3,000 homes. The runway would be almost four kilometres in length.
‘URBAN SPECULATION’
However, the project is not without its critics. The Partido Popular has already dismissed the idea, and last week, members of Izquierda Unida (IU) in Antequera claimed that the plans are no more than urban speculation. The group says that the airport, golf course and two housing zones are not necessary and that they would have a “huge environmental impact in an important natural area”.
Speaking for the IU, Lola Quintana said that the site being considered included fertile ground which had formed part of the economic development of the town, based on agriculture. She added that prime farm land should not be used for such installations which were incompatible because of atmospheric contamination.