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Francisco de la Torre has gone on record claiming that the arrival of the high-speed AVE train to Malaga will not have a negative impact on the Malaga airport. There has been conjecture about just this, no doubt some based on the case of Seville’s airfield, which suffered a crisis in 1992 when the AVE arrived there. Their number of passengers stagnated and growth slowed to a crawl compared to other Andalucian airports.

On the contrary, says Mayor de la Torre. He maintains that it may actually strengthen the airport’s traffic, since the new connections in nearby Antequera and Puente Genil (Cordoba) will bring people wanting to catch a flight at the airport. He’s got a point – not all traffic through the airport is national; international flights and hops over to the islands represent a great percentage as well. This seems to be one of those wait-and-see situations: while people get used to using the trains, look for "special deals" on flights within Spain in the upcoming weeks and months.

Looking for alternatives to the puddle-jumper plane connections or slower regional trains? Renfe is expanding services offered in and out of Malaga by leaps and bounds, especially in regards to newer high-speed trains. December marked a large milestone with the introduction of the AVE link to Madrid, slashing the trip time and price considerably from previous offerings. This connection was largely due to the completion of the high-speed-approved section between Malaga and Cordoba.

Now, the offering has been expanded to include Barcelona and Sevilla in the high-speed range, service on both to start tomorrow. To give you an idea of the time savings, the Barcelona voyage used to take over half a day (13 ½ hours), and the Sevilla trip about 2 ½ hours. Conventional trains will still run to Sevilla alongside the new alta velocidad Avant service.