Oh, the figures! The mouths that will have to shut up! Temporarily putting aside the serious conflict at El Prat airport, where Civil Guard agents have been deployed to cover for the indefinite strike by security workers of the company, Eulen, the July figures for passengers at Barcelona's airport have just been made public. One can already guess what the shambles organised by Aena was due to: El Prat and Madrid's Barajas airports both received over five million passengers in the month of July, with a scarce difference of 46,000 passengers in favour of Madrid airport.
What seemed impossible is about to happen: El Prat has technically caught up with Barajas, and the enormous efforts made by the Ministry of Fomento (Public Works & Transport), Aena and Iberia since always, but constantly in the last decade, are about to be wasted, basically because the market and the airlines have not accepted the permanent damage at Barcelona aerodrome. One day in history, the story of the strangulation of El Prat will have to be explained in detail from the official offices of the ministries and their satellite departments, or the silence — at times, even, the submission — of the economic agents and Catalan business sector.
But the stubborn reality has placed El Prat and Barajas at almost the same level. Of course, that's the same number of passengers but half the cost of security that Barajas has — the same number of passengers but with El Prat generating more than €350m in profits for Aena, whilst Barajas does not reach €30m — the same number of passengers but with El Prat airport appearing in all the news and international media as an airport with conflicts — the same number of passengers and the sensation that an airport (Barajas) has a State behind it, whilst the other (El Prat) only has the right to protest.
But watch out: the Catalans also have the right to remember. A weapon that is neither of mass destruction, nor has the force of a State. But it adds up here and there in face of the permanent contempt and arrogance.