What is the current and potential contribution of the aviation sector to the economic performance of Madrid Region?
The aviation sector is one of the most important engines of the economy in Madrid. In the case of Air Transport, Madrid-Barajas airport is the main airport in the Iberian Peninsula, the 4th in Europe in terms of passenger traffic (50.8 mill. people in 2008) and the 1st in Spain in Cargo moving (54% of Spanish Cargo). More than 100 airlines are currently operating from Madrid-Barajas. Moreover, with the new Terminal 4, airlines can improve their flight strategies and increase the number of operations because current airport’s capacity is 70 million passengers per year. Madrid-Barajas is growing with the region and it is one of the main drivers of the economy and employment. Currently, more than 40,000 employees work directly at the airport, and according to a study by NERA, it generates indirectly more than 170,000 jobs, representing almost 9% of employment and 11% of regional GDP. Regarding the Aerospace industry, the sector in our region represents more than 60% of the consolidated tu
