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Waiting for a flight at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport is about to get a little more comfortable and convenient. Aena has launched a tender to replace every seat in the terminal, and the new benches must have USB ports and power outlets. Any units without sockets will need a charging station close by, so passengers can top up their phones, laptops and tablets before boarding.

 

The current seats were installed in 2011 and have now reached the end of their recommended lifespan, 15 years on. The tender is worth €3,088,013 including taxes, and it covers more than a like-for-like swap, as the number of seats will also be expanded. The idea is to make the wait more comfortable, particularly as passengers are advised to arrive around two hours before departure.

 

Two bids have come in so far. A consortium of Montajes Eléctricos Generales y Aeronáuticos SL (MEGA) and Padecasa Obras y Servicios, SA has offered a net €2,417,662.20, while Vilor Infraestructuras has bid €2,552,077 excluding taxes. Aena’s Procurement Committee is still assessing both before proposing an award, and the winner will have ten months to supply and install the benches.

 

Travellers after something a little more private have an upgrade to look forward to as well, with the Ifach VIP lounge, closed since a fire in January 2020, being rebuilt. The €6.1 million works, awarded to Acciona, were due to begin on Wednesday October 15 after being delayed so they wouldn’t disrupt the summer season. The lounge is expected to open by December 2027 and will cover nearly 1,913 square metres. Plans include a catering area, showers, a meeting room, a children’s area, a gaming zone, a wine bar, a reading area and an outdoor terrace. In the meantime, the temporary Costa Blanca lounge stays open, and Aena has also tendered more than €1.2 million for the new lounge’s furniture and fittings.

 

The seating is the latest in a run of projects Aena has pushed since 2023. These include an Airport Management Center to resolve incidents in real time, new air conditioning in the aircraft walkways, double boarding through the front and rear doors at ten gates, solar panels on the parking canopies and a new taxiway. Together with the lounge, they add up to an investment of close to €33 million.

 

Bigger changes are still to come. The expansion plan includes a new boarding pier, built after the closed and disused Terminal 1 and the General Aviation buildings are demolished. At Aena’s request, the Ministry of Transport has already begun expropriating an extra 88,000 square metres of land for a new General Aviation building.

 

 

Image: Andreas Strandman/Unsplash