Overview
- Two recent diversions to Santiago and Vigo disrupted Alvedro operations and affected passengers on Thursday, June 18, as crews aborted approaches that could not reach the new decision heights.
- Local campaigners and some crews say Enaire’s satellite-based procedures, published in late April, raise minima and move the pilot decision point near Montrove, creating 'false minima' that force earlier go-arounds.
- The contested change increases the decision height for common types such as A320/B737 from about 210 to 233 feet, a shift Vuela Más Alto says effectively becomes roughly 300 feet once terrain geometry is applied.
- Enaire says the procedures are part of Europe’s move to Performance-Based Navigation and that safety and operability are preserved, but it has not fully withdrawn the new approaches and has opened a technical study on Cat III implementation.
- Alvedro is technically certified for Category 3 ILS but currently operates only Cat I/II; local leaders warn that without Cat III the airport will keep suffering weather- and procedure-driven diversions and wider travel disruption.