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The bills keep flooding in at Corvera Airport even as the passenger numbers show less than groundbreaking growth. It was revealed back in March that the base will have cost a total of €336 million by the time it’s paid off sometime next year, but now the electricity bill has arrived - and it makes for scary reading.

 

The energy costs for the Region of Murcia International Airport (AIRM) will be set at around €900,000 per year, according to the specifications for the new electricity contract currently being tendered.

 

The numbers are staggering for a facility that struggles to fill its departure lounges. The agreement establishes a budget of €1.8 million for the next two years, between 2026 and 2027, although an extension for a third additional year is possible, which means the total expenditure could well reach €2.7 million by 2028.

 

Annual consumption is estimated at 6.5 GWh, which must come 100% from renewable sources. The company awarded the contract must provide certificates of origin to guarantee this. While the intention is certainly noble, going green doesn't come cheap when you're powering a terminal whose growth is proving to be something of a disappointment.

 

Meanwhile, Corvera Airport's maintenance costs have been climbing steadily. Aena estimates that an additional €73 million will be required until 2043, the current concession period. The airport company attributes this increase largely to the inflationary environment, calculating an expected 2% annual price increase.

 

Here's where it gets particularly frustrating: these costs aren’t in any way affected by the expected drop in traffic, as there is a significant component of fixed costs. In other words, whether the terminal is bustling or echoing with emptiness, the bills keep coming at roughly the same rate.

 

To make matters worse, on the revenue side of things, Aena has actually seen a decrease in income from Murcia in the last year. The aerodrome achieved a turnover of €14.8 million in 2024, slightly less than the €15 million it achieved the previous year.

 

The bad news doesn’t end there. Aena has also reduced its expected revenue by €307.7 million as a result of the significant drop in footfall. Therefore, it currently forecasts a turnover of €525 million from the start of operations in 2019 until the end of the concession in 2043. In other words, the revenue forecast has been reduced by 37%.

 

According to the latest estimates, the Region of Murcia International Airport will handle a total of 39.9 million passengers by 2043. This drastically reduces the levels projected when the concession agreement was formalised, when a total traffic of 61.4 million passengers was expected. Again, this forecast has fallen by 35%.

 

The terminal continues to struggle in its recovery from the pandemic, still trying to regain the modest levels of 2019, its inaugural year. Aena does not expect to achieve this goal before 2027. The airport operator is forecasting a 5.7% increase in passengers in 2026 compared to the expected 2025 figure, while in 2027, the increase will be 12%.

 

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