21
VALERIA RUIZ
Operations and Coordination Center Ibiza Airport
“IT’S REWARDING TO KNOW MY WORK WAS PART OF THE ISLAND’S TOURISM MACHINE”
For 45 years, Valeria Ruiz García worked at Ibiza Airport, the heart of our island’s major industry. In 1980, she joined the Coordination and Operations Centre (CECOA), first as a technician and, since 2013, as a coordinator. Until her recent retirement, she was the operational brain behind Ibiza’s main gateway.
What did your job involve and why was it essential to Ibiza?
Ibiza Airport is the entry point for millions of passengers, and the operations center manages the entire airport infrastructure and assigns time slots for every aircraft operation. Among our daily tasks were flight scheduling, allocating check-in counters, boarding gates, and aircraft parking. We also handled real-time flight tracking and coordinated incidents at an airport that, in summer, runs nearly 500 operations a day.
What were the biggest challenges?
Managing an infrastructure that runs at full capacity for long hours during the summer season. Also, the flight plan that looks perfect first thing in the morning can quickly change due to incidents at other airports such as delays, bad weather, strikes, breakdowns. That requires fast reorganization to minimize disruptions. It’s the Operations Center’s job to respond to new requirements.
How has your job shaped your personal connection to the island?
I’ve lived on the island since 1969 and consider myself a local. Knowing that tourism is the engine of Ibiza’s economy and that the airport is where millions of visitors have their first and last impression, it’s rewarding to know my work was part of the machinery behind the island’s tourism sector.
22
ROBERTO ALGABA
Island Director of Transport
“WE HAVE TO FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN TOURISM AND THE NEEDS OF RESIDENTS”
Roberto Algaba knows Ibiza inside out. A trained statistician with a passion for politics and family, he currently heads the Transport Department at the Consell with the ambitious goal of easing summer chaos and rethinking how we move around an island that never stops. It’s complex, behind-the-scenes work, but essential to the island’s order and quality of life.
Why is your work essential to daily life in Ibiza?
Essential might be a bold word. What I aim for is useful work – something that improves people’s quality of life and helps make Ibiza a better place to live, both for us and for our children. To reach those goals, sustainable mobility is key.
What are the biggest challenges?
Rolling out the new public transport contract, which after summer will bring more buses – modern ones, with improved frequency and better timetables. A transport system that fits new social and environmental demands. Another major step is implementing the law introduced by President Vicent Marí to control the number of vehicles coming to the island. This will help Ibiza remain an idyllic destination for visitors and a spectacular place to live. We need to strike a balance between tourism and the needs of residents and improve quality of life for both those who build their lives here and those who choose Ibiza as a holiday destination.
How does your work shape your personal connection to the island?
My main goal is to modernize the island through sustainable mobility policies and, by doing so, improve residents’ quality of life. I see it as a legacy we’ll leave for our children. I’m deeply grateful to be part of this challenge because it has a strong personal connection with the island and its people, who have made me feel like one of their own and treated me with extraordinary kindness. I’m forever in debt to them and to Ibiza.
23
FRAN BUJALDÓN
Head of Cleaning and Waste Collection Services, Ibiza
“MEETING IBIZA’S CLEANING NEEDS IN SUMMER IS A MAJOR CHALLENGE”
Keeping a place as popular as Ibiza Town clean has been a major challenge for years. Fran Bujaldón took on the challenge and led this mission through the company Valoriza. A forestry engineer and urban services specialist, he has spent more than two decades dedicating his career to environmental projects with real impact.
Why is your work essential to daily life in Ibiza city?
My role at Valoriza – the company that holds the municipal cleaning contract in Ibiza – is to organize daily waste collection and street cleaning in Vila and on its beaches. Waste collection and cleaning are critical for any town, and especially for one like Ibiza that receives large numbers of visitors. Our work is the island’s calling card for everyone who comes here, and of course for the people who live here. We try to make our work invisible, but it becomes obvious when it’s missing. No one notices when a place is clean, but everyone notices when it’s dirty.
What are the biggest challenges you face?
We deal with the same issues as many other sectors: lack of staff and high seasonality are our main challenges. On top of that, we have to manage the peaks in visitor numbers that Ibiza sees in summer. In August 2024, the island reached over 340,000 people in a single day – more than twice its resident population. Much of that pressure is felt in Ibiza city, where we had to manage 120,000kg of waste per day. Meeting Ibiza’s cleaning needs in summer is a major challenge.
How does your work shape your personal connection to the island?
Ibiza is a magical, special place. I love its light and the contrast between the green pine trees and the blue sea. The island welcomed me with open arms. I’ve built strong ties with its people and made great friends to enjoy it with. Walking through the streets of Dalt Vila or along the Marina, knowing I play an active role in keeping it clean, is a source of pride and a great responsibility.
24
EMETERIO MOLES
Manager at Abaqua
“THE GOAL IS NOT TO RETURN A SINGLE DROP TO THE SEA”
Proper water management is vital for the present and future of the Pitiusas Islands. Few people understand the demands of this issue as deeply as Emeterio Moles. An agricultural engineer who has lived in Ibiza since 1990, he has been managing Abaqua since 2023, responsible for the entire water cycle across the four islands.
Why is your work essential to daily life in Ibiza?
The work of the Balearic agency, which I manage, involves overseeing all municipal wastewater treatment plants in Ibiza and about 70% of the island’s urban water supply through its three desalination plants. In Formentera, we also manage both the treatment and desalination plants through Abaqua.
What are the biggest challenges you face?
Our work is built on three pillars: ensuring a steady water supply through proper management of existing resources, strengthening the infrastructure already in operation and implementing new facilities. Then there’s the major push for water reuse, which requires the involvement of many players because it also depends on the quality of water arriving at the treatment plants. The goal is not to return a single drop to the sea that has come from the desalination plants. If we can stop calling it wastewater and start calling it reusable water, that will be a real achievement.
How does your personal connection to the island influence your work?
At the local level, I worked from 2007 to 2016 for the municipal water company in Santa Eulària, as well as in Ibiza city and Sant Josep. That experience has given me insight that often allows me to clear up uncertainties more quickly and help move some projects into a more advanced stage. Knowing whether a pipe has enough capacity, if a plot is municipally owned or even being able to call up any of my former colleagues with a quick question – those are the biggest accelerators for getting things done.
