Spain’s opposition Popular Party (PP) will present a motion in the Canary Islands parliament calling on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government to keep the management of the Sahara’s airspace under Spanish administration, citing potential security, migration and economic risks for the archipelago.
The initiative, led by Gran Canaria lawmaker David Morales, calls on the central government to maintain management of the airspace through state-owned air navigation provider ENAIRE and the Canary Islands Air Traffic Control Centre, according to local media reports.
The motion also urges Madrid to keep the Canary Islands government and parliament informed of any negotiations with Morocco before decisions are made. Any proposed change, it argues, should be debated by regional lawmakers and receive the backing of the relevant international bodies.
Morales says the archipelago cannot be excluded from discussions that could affect its security, strategic military interests and air links with mainland Spain and the rest of Europe.
The initiative comes amid renewed scrutiny of Spain-Morocco discussions on airspace management. In April 2022, the two countries agreed to open talks on the management of their respective airspace areas as part of a broader effort to restore bilateral relations. The agreement followed Spain’s shift in position on the Sahara dispute, with Madrid describing Morocco’s autonomy proposal as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving it.
The PP argues that a possible transfer of management to Morocco could affect the Canary Islands’ tourism-dependent economy, which relies on safe and reliable air connections with mainland Spain and other European destinations.
The party also warns of potential implications for the European Union’s Single European Sky initiative, which aims to improve the safety, efficiency and integration of air traffic management across Europe. It argues that the airspace currently managed by Spain should remain integrated into the framework.
Migration control along the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands is another concern raised by the PP, which points to the archipelago’s role in operations involving Spanish security forces and the EU border agency Frontex.
The motion calls on Sánchez’s government to reaffirm its commitment to the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations, maintain Spanish management of the Sahara’s airspace through ENAIRE and the Canary Islands control centre, and ensure its continued integration into the Single European Sky framework.
It also demands that the Canary Islands receive information about any negotiations with Morocco before an agreement is reached, rather than being informed after decisions have been made.
The proposal reflects the PP’s opposition to a potential transfer of airspace management. It does not, in itself, establish that Spain has decided to transfer control to Morocco.
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