A month and a half has passed since the first tests carried out by Isla Air Express, the seaplane company that wants to link the Balearic Islands. And although the company is hopeful that 2025 will indeed be the year in which commercial flights will begin, it admits that it is far from being able to provide details. On the one hand, because it is waiting for national legislation to regulate the sector. On the other hand, because it has to look for a new place to operate in Ibiza.
“The deadlines are complicated, it is difficult for us to foresee them. Before we continue with applications to the APB to operate, we need the Government to approve a mechanism for the management of hydrosurfaces, a legislation that does not yet exist in Spain”, he said. Antoni Jiménezthe company’s delegate in the Balearic Islands, to La Voz de Ibiza. He has clarified that, for this reason, permits can only be requested to operate private traffic, “but for commercial traffic a ministerial order must be published to regulate the sector”. In that line, Jiménez has pointed out that from the company they collaborate with the Ministry of Transport to develop the corresponding protocols. “The ball is on the State’s side,” he defined. And he added: “We expected this legislation to be in place much earlier. But we understand that it takes time, since governments and ministries have changed in the meantime. Even so, we believe that the issue is advanced at the national level. But we have had to modify the projections so many times that we no longer know, it does not depend on us”. For all these reasons, Jiménez has chosen to be cautious, but does not lose hope that commercial flights will be a reality next year: “It is very difficult to make predictions when it comes to public administration. But we understand that, if everyone puts in their work, we could be operating within the year 2025”.
A new site to operate in Ibiza
On November 6, an Isla Air Express hydroship carried out tests in Ibiza. It arrived from Palma to the port of Ibiza, more precisely to the Marina IGY area , where it installed a provisional floating dock and gangway. On that day, the company had planned three tests. However, it only carried out one of the three planned tests, and it did so without passengers. The company argued that this was a precautionary measure due to the easterly wind, even though the conditions in Ibiza that day were not exceptionally bad, quite the contrary. At that time, the company had pointed out that the conditions were not ideal for take-off and landing. Now, it admits that it will not be feasible to operate from there. “The tests in Palma went very well, although in Ibiza there is a problem. The area of operation is very busy. Even with reasonably good weather, it makes takeoff and splashdown very difficult. It is possible, but they are not the most suitable or comfortable conditions,” said Jiménez. The Isla Air Express spokesman has been emphatic on this point: “We will have to rethink to find another space in Ibiza where we do not hinder the operations of the boats and provide all the security guarantees. We do not know where yet. What we do know is that it’s not worth operating from a place where we won’t be able to fly half the year. Beyond the case of Ibiza, Jiménez has considered that “the test flights have been fundamental”. He added: “Our technical teams are working on a full report on the tests we carried out in November. We will send it to the authorities shortly”. This technical report will be delivered to different authorities: from the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), to Palma Airport and the Ministry of Transport, through the Balearic Port Authority (APB). “We hope to have interlocutors to discuss the issue and talk about it,” said Jiménez.
