Yesterday it was confirmed that last Friday a commercial flight operated by Air Nostrum to Barcelona and another operated by Air Berlín to Palma de Mallorca took off from the new airport in Ciudad Real. A spokesperson for the airport declined to comment on the new date for the official inauguration of the airport following the unsuccessful attempt in October this year.

The first private airport in Spain was forced to cancel its official inauguration two months ago with tickets sold and a promotional flight full of guests scheduled because it lacked the necessary permission. The Spanish Civil Aviation authority which is linked to the Ministry of Transport denied a license to the airport in Ciudad Real due to the fact that it did not fulfil part of the requirements set out in the ‘Declaration on Environmental Impact’. However, yesterday the president of Castilla-La Mancha, José María Barreda, confirmed that the government had given the go ahead to the opening of the airport.

In a statement to the press he said that all the necessary authorization had been granted.

Two companies (Air Nostrum and Air Berlín) will operate from Ciudad Real offering direct flights to Barcelona, Gran Canaria and Palma de Mallorca.

A new AVE high speed rail link is being planned directly from the airport meaning that the train journey to Madrid will take just 50 minutes. The new AVE station will be located at the entrance to the airport.