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Date Published: 07/06/2021
ARCHIVED - Row over naming of Corvera airport: proposed name rejected due to alleged fascist links
The proposal to name the airport after Juan de la Cierva has been revoked due to his alleged role in supporting the military coup which led to the Spanish Civil War
After years of controversy surrounding the construction of Corvera airport which finally opened just over two years ago, it could have been assumed that "the only way was up.....and away" but the airport continues to generate debate, the latest row being over its official name.
The General Directorate of Civil Aviation has decided not to pursue the administrative process to officially name the airport in the Region of Murcia after Juan de la Cierva Codorniú after the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory advised against the name change, as the name of the inventor has been linked to a róle within the Francoist dictatorship.
It is believed that the Murcia-born inventor, Juan de la Cierva, played a part in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and in the dictatorship that followed, a róle which is frequently overshadowed by his achievements as an aeronautical pioneer.
The Federation of Associations of Historical Memory of the Region of Murcia has repeatedly criticized the proposal to name the Region’s airport after this individual, stating that he “explicitly contributed to the coup and cooperated with the insurgents in a decisive way”.
Naming the airport after someone with ties to the dictatorship, which lasted for nearly 40 years, from 1936 until 1975, would go against the Law of Historical Memory, which establishes a series of conditions for commemorative symbols and monuments from the Civil War or from the Francoist dictatorship.
The General Directorate of Civil Aviation, which forms part of the Ministry of Transport, hasn’t questioned the Democratic Memory’s ruling, as the department has stated that they only consider aspects within the aeronautical field and respect the Secretary of State’s authority on matters of historical significance.
However, despite Juan de la Cierva’s past, the Aviation department maintains that their institution recognizes his “great aeronautical legacy” and his contribution to aviation.
Born in Murcia in 1895, Juan de la Cierva made several historic flights during his career, as well as being credited with the invention of the autogyro, before dying in a plane crash in Croydon in 1936.
Opposition politicians have been highly vocal in their criticism of the Murcian regional government for choosing the name; Javier Sánchez, the co-ordinator of the Podemos party in the Murcia region, saying in an interview with la Verdad that: "There is no doubt that Juan de la Cierva was an active element in the conspiracy and the coup d'état of General Franco, which led Spain into a bloody war." Sánchez Serna insisted that de la Cierva "not only provided Franco with the planes to reach the peninsula from Africa, but that he was sent months before by Alfonso XIII to negotiate with the Italian fascists," so the airport cannot be legally named after him as this is against the Historic Memory Law.
The regional PP has accused him of "staining the name of de la Cierva" and the former PP Mayor of Murcia has stood by the decision to name the airport after an "illustrious figure who was born in Murcia and has been given important prizes and awards all over the world".
The new socialist mayor of Murcia city has said only that the decision has been made by the Ministry and he will abide by and enforce the law.
Undoubtedly there is a considerable amount of political turmoil being caused by the situation and Javier Sánchez also accused the regional government of using the controversy surrounding the naming of the airport as: "Another artificial controversy, a smokescreen fed by the regional government to hide the real problems of this Region" and went on to criticise the regional government for its willingness to fund another rescue plan for airport concessionary Aena, put forward to the regional assmbly for debate on Wednesday, as compensation for the collapse of passenger traffic through the airport “ which has already cost Murcian taxpayers 300 million euros” this last year.
Aena has struggled throughout the crisis and in 2020 reported a loss of 126.8 million euros after having made a profit of 1,442 million euros the year before.
In December the Murcian government paid the operator 2.6 million euros to compensate for the forced enclosure of establishments within the airport and loss of traffic, although the national government obliged the operator to remain operational.
Although flights have now resumed to Corvera airport, with Ryanair amongst the operators resuming UK connections, traffic through the airport during April was 98 per cent down on 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
Although Corvera airport has been amongst the worst hit in Spain, traffic across the Aena network was 84 per cent down during the same period.
His proposal is that the airport be named “Airport of the Mar Menor”, a proposal which is also likely to ruffle a few feathers given the anger still existing that San Javier airport was closed down to move passengers away from the Mar Menor in favour of an airport which is actually located in the Murcia city municipality and is a considerable distance from the Mar Menor.
Foreigners tend to refer to the airport simply as “Corvera Airport” and others call it simply “Murcia airport”, names which for the moment, will continue to be used as the political wrangling over the official name of the airport rages on.
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