Alicante Airport
Encyclopedia
Alicante Airport , originally named El Altet, is the sixth busiest airport in Spain
, and the main airport for the Province of Alicante and the Region of Murcia
. The airport is situated 9 km (5.6 mi) southwest of Alicante
and 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Elche in the municipality of Elche on Mediterranean coast. Up to eighty percent of all passenger flights are international. The largest numbers of passengers arrive from the United Kingdom
, Germany
, and the Netherlands
. Popular domestic destinations are Madrid
, Palma de Mallorca
and Barcelona
. Both, international and domestic passenger traffic has been increasing significantly in the last decade.
In 2010, Alicante Airport handled 9,382,935 passengers, 74,474 flight operations and 3,113 tonnes of cargo, making it the busiest airport in the Valencian Community
by passenger numbers, and one of the 50 busiest in Europe. The airport is the fourth largest base for low-cost giant Ryanair
with 59 destinations served by the airline. The largest number of passengers is carried by Ryanair
(3,152,724 passengers in 2010), followed by EasyJet
(1,337,350). Air Berlin
(620,671) is the distant third.
In March 2011, the New Terminal Area of the airport was opened. All flights arrive and depart from this new terminal. Terminals 1 and 2, which were in service before the opening of the new terminal, are now closed.
by Aviaco
. Iberia
established a regular connections Alicante-Madrid
and Alicante-Barcelona
in November 1969. In early 1970s passengers' traffic reached 1 million, which prompted a construction of a new passenger terminal. In 1980 the runway was extended to three kilometres.
The next renovation took place in 1996. A new office building for airlines, an operations centre and a business centre were constructed. For the first time, five air bridges were installed to facilitate boarding.
In 2011, the new terminal was opened at the airport increasing the annual airport capacity to 20 million passengers per year. Works however will not be completed until 2014, including refurbishment of Terminals 1 and 2.
Historically, up until 2003, Iberia
was the leading airline at the airport. With the decline of conventional airlines, in 2004 low-cost EasyJet
took the lead. In 2007, Ryanair
, the largest European low-cost airline established a base in Alicante. It has become the leading carrier at the airport in 2009, and by 2011 it has increased its presence further with eleven aircraft based, 62 routes, and more than 3 million passengers. However, from the end of October 2011, Ryanair has cut 31 routes due to disagreement with AENA on the usage of air bridges at the new terminal.
flight to Memmingen.
The terminal has an area of 333,500m², which is more than six times the size of terminals 1 and 2 together. It includes 96 check-in desks, 40 gates, including 15 with airbridges, and 16 baggage reclaim carousels.
The terminal is split into two areas, the processor where the C Gates are held, and the dock where the majority of B Gates are located. Flights within the Schengen Area
use both areas of the terminal while flights to non-Schengen destinations only use the dock. This terminal was constructed to the east of Terminal 1.
New car parking was opened in 2011 together with the new terminal. It employs a modern sensor system with displays. The multi-level parking is covered protecting cars from excessive sunlight.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and the main airport for the Province of Alicante and the Region of Murcia
Region of Murcia
The Region of Murcia is an autonomous community of Spain located in the southeast of the country, between Andalusia and Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast....
. The airport is situated 9 km (5.6 mi) southwest of Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
and 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Elche in the municipality of Elche on Mediterranean coast. Up to eighty percent of all passenger flights are international. The largest numbers of passengers arrive from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Popular domestic destinations are Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Palma de Mallorca
Palma de Mallorca
Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. Both, international and domestic passenger traffic has been increasing significantly in the last decade.
In 2010, Alicante Airport handled 9,382,935 passengers, 74,474 flight operations and 3,113 tonnes of cargo, making it the busiest airport in the Valencian Community
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
by passenger numbers, and one of the 50 busiest in Europe. The airport is the fourth largest base for low-cost giant Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
with 59 destinations served by the airline. The largest number of passengers is carried by Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
(3,152,724 passengers in 2010), followed by EasyJet
EasyJet
EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports...
(1,337,350). Air Berlin
Air Berlin
Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG is Germany's second largest airline, after Lufthansa, and Europe's sixth largest airline in terms of passengers....
(620,671) is the distant third.
In March 2011, the New Terminal Area of the airport was opened. All flights arrive and depart from this new terminal. Terminals 1 and 2, which were in service before the opening of the new terminal, are now closed.
History
El Altet airport opened on 4 May 1967, replacing the older aerodrome La Rabassa that had served Alicante since 1936. It took its name after the El Altet area (a part of Elche's countryside) where it was built. The first commercial flight that landed in the airport was Convair MetropolitanConvair
Convair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft and Consolidated Aircraft, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36 bomber, and the F-102...
by Aviaco
Aviaco
Aviación y Comercio, S.A., was a Spanish airline incorporated on February 18, 1948. It was founded when the National Institute of Industry proposed that the national carrier of Spain, Iberia, could not meet the domestic demand. This had been caused by the heavy commitment of Iberia to the lucrative...
. Iberia
Iberia Airlines
Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A., commonly known as Iberia, is the flag carrier airline of Spain. Based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from its main bases of Madrid-Barajas Airport and Barcelona El Prat Airport....
established a regular connections Alicante-Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Alicante-Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in November 1969. In early 1970s passengers' traffic reached 1 million, which prompted a construction of a new passenger terminal. In 1980 the runway was extended to three kilometres.
The next renovation took place in 1996. A new office building for airlines, an operations centre and a business centre were constructed. For the first time, five air bridges were installed to facilitate boarding.
In 2011, the new terminal was opened at the airport increasing the annual airport capacity to 20 million passengers per year. Works however will not be completed until 2014, including refurbishment of Terminals 1 and 2.
Historically, up until 2003, Iberia
Iberia Airlines
Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A., commonly known as Iberia, is the flag carrier airline of Spain. Based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from its main bases of Madrid-Barajas Airport and Barcelona El Prat Airport....
was the leading airline at the airport. With the decline of conventional airlines, in 2004 low-cost EasyJet
EasyJet
EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports...
took the lead. In 2007, Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
, the largest European low-cost airline established a base in Alicante. It has become the leading carrier at the airport in 2009, and by 2011 it has increased its presence further with eleven aircraft based, 62 routes, and more than 3 million passengers. However, from the end of October 2011, Ryanair has cut 31 routes due to disagreement with AENA on the usage of air bridges at the new terminal.
Terminals
The New Terminal Area is the only terminal currently in service. Terminals 1 and 2 have been closed since the opening of the new terminal, and their future is unknown.New Terminal
The new terminal (denoted as Terminal N) was officially opened on 23 March 2011. All flight operations at the airport were moved to this terminal on the following day. The first flight that used the terminal was a RyanairRyanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
flight to Memmingen.
The terminal has an area of 333,500m², which is more than six times the size of terminals 1 and 2 together. It includes 96 check-in desks, 40 gates, including 15 with airbridges, and 16 baggage reclaim carousels.
The terminal is split into two areas, the processor where the C Gates are held, and the dock where the majority of B Gates are located. Flights within the Schengen Area
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
use both areas of the terminal while flights to non-Schengen destinations only use the dock. This terminal was constructed to the east of Terminal 1.
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 (styled as T1) had 38 check-in desks numbered 1 - 38, along with one for special baggage which is desk number 39. It included 11 gates of which five have airbridges, which are the odd numbered gates, and nine baggage reclaim carousels.Terminal 2
Terminal 2 (styled as T2) had 14 check-in desks numbered 51 - 64, 6 gates (none with airbridges), and two baggage reclaim carousels. This terminal is adjacent to Terminal 1. The terminal was opened in January 2007, and it was closed on 24 March 2011 together with Terminal 1 after the opening of the new terminal.Airlines and destinations
Statistics
In 2010, the number of passengers increased by 2.7% to 9,382,935. The passenger traffic has increased in every year since 2000, exception of 2009.EWLINE
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Ground transport
Alicante airport is accessible by buses, taxis, and private cars on automobile road N-338. In near future, it can be reached by trains and trams. A space in the basement of the new terminal is reserved for construction of both stations.| Means of transport | Available | Carrier | Line | Destination | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Yes | Subús Alcoyana | C-6 | Alicante Alicante Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest... |
www.subus.es, Line C-6 |
| |Subús Moyá | 1A, 1B | Elche | www.subus.es, Line 1A, www.subus.es, Line 1B | ||
| |ALSA ALSA (bus company) ALSA is a Spanish subsidiary of the UK company National Express Group, which operates bus and coach services in Spain and other countries across Europe, including Andorra, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,... |
|||||
| Benidorm Benidorm Benidorm is a coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain, by the Western Mediterranean.... , Murcia Murcia -History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village... |
www.alsa.es | ||||
| |Costa Azul | |||||
| Torrevieja Torrevieja Torrevieja is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in south-eastern Spain.Torrevieja lies about 30 miles south of the city of Alicante and has a population of 104,000... |
www.torrevieja.com | ||||
| - Train | No (in project) | ||||
| www.renfe.es | |||||
| - Tram | No (in project) | ||||
| Alicante Alicante Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest... , Benidorm Benidorm Benidorm is a coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain, by the Western Mediterranean.... , Denia Dénia Dénia is a city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, the judicial seat of the comarca of Marina Alta... |
www.fgvalicante.com | ||||
| - Taxi | Yes | Radio Taxi Elche | |||
| various | www.radiotaxielche.com |
New car parking was opened in 2011 together with the new terminal. It employs a modern sensor system with displays. The multi-level parking is covered protecting cars from excessive sunlight.
External links
- Alicante Airport - official page
- New terminal construction: De altos vuelos El Dominical. March 12, 2007. p. 1-4