Two vertical gardens with natural plants have been installed at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport to enhance travellers’ well-being and create a more attractive ambience in the main terminal.
Located in the main check-in area, the gardens comprise two natural green wall modules extending over a total surface area of 125 square metres. The objective, according to airport authorities, was not only to beautify this key area of the terminal but also to reduce visual stress, provide sound insulation, and ease discomfort for passengers and airport users during hot weather.
The design was inspired by the waves of the Paseo de la Explanada promenade in Alicante and the verdant Palmeral de Elche palm grove. Around 4,500 plants comprising 19 varieties and different shades were used, all of them species that do not have to be rooted to the ground – such as ferns and pothos.
The gardens incorporate an irrigation system with water recovery that only requires replenishment of water lost through evaporation, so consumption is minimal.
Complementing this initiative, which is part of the 2023 Passenger Experience Improvement Quality Plan, is another smaller (20 square metres) vertical garden with artificial plants that has been installed in the boarding area.
Green Hydrogen in Aviation
Meanwhile, a total of 11 institutions and companies in the sector have created an alliance to promote the decarbonisation process in aviation. They include the Spanish ministry of transport, mobility and the urban agenda, which has jurisdiction over Spanish airports including Alicante-Elche.
Representatives of the aeronautical sector formally signed an agreement at the ministry to set up the “Alliance for the Use of Green Hydrogen in Aviation”. The alliance has been created “to boost the decarbonisation process, bearing in mind that green hydrogen has been identified as a sustainable solution for the decarbonisation of multiple productive and industrial sectors, including air transport, and that it is set to be a key energy vector in the future of our economy”.
Its objectives are “to determine requirements for the development, production, storage and distribution of green hydrogen for aviation in Spain, as well as to promote research and development of solutions in this field, coordination between different actors in the aviation hydrogen industry value chain and the exchange of information”.