20TH CHAPTER - A RESPITE IN THE USE OF THE THIRD RUNWAY

20) With the third runway in use, the City Council of Gavà went through a serious crisis as the inhabitants of Gavà Mar felt deceived and asked the mayor for a solution.

A) What was the situation like in Gavà Mar when the third runway was put into service?

B) How was this respite achieved?

C) Why did it end?

A) WHAT WAS THE SITUATION LIKE IN GAVÀ MAR WHEN THE THIRD RUNWAY WAS PUT INTO SERVICE?

The situation in Gavà Mar was critical, The first landings on the third runway of El Prat airport with the EAST configuration made all the telephones ring at the City Council of Gavà. Never before had the neighbors seen the planes so close to their homes or at a such a low altitude. Many people were frightened
Everybody recalled that edict and that special issue of the local newspaper (El Bruguers) that only 4 months before asserted that the expansion of El Prat airport would not cause any disturbances to Gavà Mar, so the people felt great anger

- The City Council of Gavà informs (May 2004)

- El Bruguers (May 19th, 2004)

Therefore, the situation of the mayor (Dídac Pestaña) was extremely delicate since for months he had been denying each and every one of the predictions the AVV Gavà Mar technicians made about what would happen once the routes approved by CSAAB were implemented. The councilwoman Bruguers Jardí (PSC) from the City Council of Gavà voted for these routes, as can be read in the following fragment of the CSAAB's meeting act:

Then the mayor faced up to the harsh reality; that is, all the predictions the AVV Gavà Mar's technicians had made were coming true, The situation was a disaster.

Thus, they quickly got down to work in order to try to solve that serious problem. The noise and danger were not momentary; they were here to stay hovering over the neighbors of Gavà Mar forever and ever

The political circumstances could not be more favorable for his negotiations since the Catalan Government was ruled by a tripartite (PSC, ERC and ICV-EUiA), led by Pasqual Maragall (member of his own party, PSC) and heading the Spanish Government was José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (from PSOE, ruling the country without absolute majority).

Therefore, Dídac Pestaña, who had been ruling the City Council of Gavà in absolute majority for almost 20 years, counted on two 'friendly' governments. Some sources assure Dídac Pestaña took steps at all levels... including La Moncloa (seat of the Spanish president)... We hope that some day, maybe when he withdraws from political life, he will explain all the details

B) HOW WAS THIS RESPITE ACHIEVED

	On October 6th, 2004, Dídac Pestaña (mayor of Gavà - (PSC) asked AENA to stop using the third runway of the Barcelona airport temporarily due to the serious noise problems it was causing until a new flight management plan was agreed upon. He urged the state body to use the former flight plan (crossed runways)
- Press release (October 6th, 2004)
	On October 8th, 2004, Manuel Azuaga (President of AENA) committed himself before the mayor of Gavà and the deputy mayor at that time (Joaquim Balsera) to stop using the third runway of the El Prat airport while the negotiations were in progress. AENA also committed itself to implement a protocol between AENA and the City Council of Gavà aimed at informing regularly and in real time of the flight configuration the airport was using
- Press release (October 8th, 2004)
AENA's Aerial Navigation Manager (Gaspar de Vicente) ordered that, in the event of having to apply the EAST configuration, only the main runway (07L) should be used, instead of using the third runway (07R), between October 9th and 12th.
- Internal release (October 8th, 2004)

C) WHY DID THE RESPITE IN THE USE OF THE THIRD RUNWAY OF EL PRAT AIRPORT END ?

	On October 21st, 2004, Dídac Pestaña (mayor of Gavà) (PSC) announced in a press conference that after 15 days of intense meetings with the highest managers of AENA, the 'CSAAB' held an emergency meeting during which AENA had only committed to carrying out a proposal of minimal use of the third runway in the EAST configuration by November 15th, 2004.
The City Council of Gavà considered that the third runway had come into operation failing to observe the 'DIA' (Environmental Impact Declaration) thus, the City Council legal department would take all the legal steps considered appropriate
He also announced the creation of a permanent office aimed at managing this conflictive situation that would be placed in the Civic Center of Gavà Mar. It would coordinate all the legal, technical and computer aspects. NOTE: This office was created in December 2006 (2 years later) and had its headquarters in the City Hall of Gavà (at a distance of 5 km from the Civic Center of Gavà Mar)
Finally he released a political statement agreed upon by all the political parties which was to be presented in the next plenary session, and he expressed his will to involve the Catalan Government ('Generalitat') and the Spanish Government in the search for a solution.
- Press release (October 21st, 2004)

On October 28th, 2004, the City Council unanimously approved a political statement supporting the inhabitants of Gavà Mar in which they demanded that planes stop landing on the third runway; it also contained a series of proposals aimed at involving the 'Síndic de Greuges' (Ombudsman of Catalonia), the Parliament of Catalonia and the Spanish Congress of Deputies in the search for a solution:

- UNANIMOUS Political Statement (October 28th, 2004)

On November 11th, 2006, the mayor of Gavà (Dídac Pestaña) (PSC) gave a press conference in which he kept asking that the third runway not be used in the East configuration. He was glad that the Minister of the Environment (Cristina Narbona - PSOE) had publicly admitted that the 'DIA' was not being fulfilled. He was also happy about the decision made by the Catalan Ministry of the Environment to install sound meters in Gavà Mar.

- Press release (November 10th, 2004)