Palma de Mallorca Airport
Palma de Mallorca Airport Aeroport de Palma de Mallorca Aeropuerto de Palma de Mallorca | |||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public and military | ||||||||||||||
Owner | ENAIRE | ||||||||||||||
Operator | Aena | ||||||||||||||
Serves | Mallorca | ||||||||||||||
Location | Palma de Mallorca, Spain | ||||||||||||||
Focus city for | |||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 8 m / 27 ft | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 39°33′06″N 002°44′20″E / 39.55167°N 2.73889°E | ||||||||||||||
Website | Palma Airport | ||||||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2019) | |||||||||||||||
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Palma de Mallorca Airport (Catalan: Aeroport de Palma de Mallorca, Spanish: Aeropuerto de Palma de Mallorca; IATA: PMI, ICAO: LEPA; also known as Son Sant Joan Airport or Aeroport de Son Sant Joan) is an international airport located 8 km (5.0 mi) east[2] of Palma, Mallorca, Spain, adjacent to the village of Can Pastilla. The airport on the Balearic Islands is Spain's third largest airport[1] after Madrid–Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat. Palma de Mallorca was used by 29.7 million passengers in 2019.[3] The airport is the main base for the Spanish carrier Air Europa and also a focus airport for Ryanair, EasyJet, Vueling and Jet2.com. The airport shares runways with the nearby Son Sant Joan Air Force Base, operated by the Spanish Air Force.
History
Early years
The interest of the Spanish Government in developing airmail during the first decades of the 20th century, led to a study of the possibility of establishing an air mail line to the Balearic Islands. Finally, in 1921, the company Aeromarítima Mallorquina established the postal line Barcelona - Palma, which used seaplanes in the port of Palma de Mallorca. Before the creation of this airline, trials were complete in two flat fields: Son Sant Joan and Son Bonet, both of which were later chosen for the construction of aerodromes.[4][5]
In 1934, the company Aero-Taxi de Mallorca was created with the intention of starting tourist flights to the island, establishing a flight school in Son Sant Joan. A year later, another one was founded in Son Bonet.[4]
In May 1935 the company LAPE, Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas (Spanish Postal Airlines), a predecessor of Iberia; was founded. A month later, in August, the first regular air route between Madrid and Palma, stopping at Valencia, was created using the Son Sant Joan aerodrome. A year later, this line was replaced by a new one connecting Palma and Barcelona. Three years later, Lufthansa and Iberia established new lines in Son Bonet,[6] while Son Sant Joan was beginning to be used by the military. Through the years, Son Bonet became the main civilian airport in the island, while the creation of Son Sant Joan Air Force Base limited further civilian enterprises at the aerodrome.[4]
In 1954, the runway was enlarged and paved to enable the operation of F-86 Sabre fighters, which also meant the diversion of the Palma - Llucmajor road. During those years, the first paved taxiways and aprons were built, while Son Bonet received the first big groups of European tourists through the airlines BEA, Air France and Aviaco.[4]
The creation of the international airport
The increase in traffic, and the inability to enlarge Son Bonet, led the authors of the 1958 National Airport Plan to propose building a large civilian airport near the Son Sant Joan airbase. The National Airport Council approved this plan the following year and commercial traffic was transferred from Son Bonet to Son Sant Joan. This was the birth of what today is known as the Palma de Mallorca Airport. During that year, a terminal and a civilian apron were built south of the military facilities, along with a VHF communication center. Also, a VOR was installed in the island.[4]
Finally, the 7 of July 1960, the airport was opened to both domestic and international traffic.[4]
Just two weeks later, expansion of the airport was declared urgent by the government, and on summer 1961 the works of extension of the runway and taxiway were started. At the end of the year, more plans were made, including a power plant, a communications centre and fire and rescue facilities.[4][7]
Growth since the 1960s
After reaching 1 million passengers for the first time in 1962, in 1965, a new terminal was constructed, and air navigation services were completed at the end of the following year. Also in 1965 Air Spain (1965 - 1975) began operating from the airport[8] and a smaller terminal (today's Terminal B) was planned. Passenger numbers increased rapidly, reaching 2 million in 1965. Construction of a second runway, parallel to the existing one, was begun in 1970. Two years later, terminal B went into service, and the second runway (06L/24R) opened in 1974.
In 1980, the airport carried 7 million passengers. However, this increased to nearly 10 million in 1986. This led to the construction of yet another new terminal building, the current central terminal building. This building is now the airport's primary entrance and exit and houses the airport's checkin and baggage claim areas. Construction started in mid-1993 and it was designed by the Majorcan architect Pere Nicolau Bover. During the construction in 1995, passenger numbers exceeded 15 million. The new terminal finally opened in 1997.[9]
Today
Following a decline in passenger numbers at the airport following the September 11 attacks in 2001, passenger numbers rose steadily between 2002 and 2007 when traffic peaked at 23.2 million passengers. From 2007 onward there was a decline in passenger numbers, with 21.1 million using the airport in 2010.[1] Today, Palma de Mallorca airport carries over 29.7 million passengers[3] per year to their destinations, with 178,253 aircraft movements, mostly to mainland Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom.
In November 2015, Air Berlin (1978 - 2017) announced that it would shut down its hub operations at the airport which it had maintained for over ten years. All seven domestic connection routes to the mainland, such as flights to Valencia, Bilbao and Sevilla, as well as the route to Faro in Portugal ceased during spring 2016.[10]
During the Summer months the dual-runway airport handles as many movements as London–Gatwick. On the busiest day of the week it handles as many as 1,100 movements, almost as many as London–Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe. According to the operational data provided by AENA, the airport can handle 66 movements per hour, or almost 1,600 movements over a 24-hour operational period.
Terminals
Palma de Mallorca Airport occupies an area of 6.3 km2 (2.4 sq mi). Due to rapid growth of passenger numbers, additional infrastructure was added to the two terminals A (1965) and B (1972). This main terminal was designed by local architect Pere Nicolau Bover and was officially opened on 12 April 1997. The airport now consists of four modules: Module A (the former Terminal A Building), Module B (the former Terminal B Building), Module C and Module D (the last two were completely new sets of buildings and gates that opened along with the new central terminal and check in area in 1997). The airport can handle 25 million passengers per year, with a capacity to dispatch 12,000 passengers per hour.
Module A
The former Terminal A Building is located in the north of the airport. It has 28 gates of which 8 have airbridges. This is the only Module that has double airbridges attached to gates. The Pier is mainly used by flights to non-Schengen destinations including the UK and Ireland. This part of the terminal building used to be closed during winter months and is only used in the summer. For winter 2018/2019 it will remain open.[11]
Module B
The former Terminal B Building is the smallest module, located in the north east. It has 8 gates located on the ground floor, of which none have airbridges. It is used by regional aircraft of Air Nostrum, mainly operating flights to Ibiza Airport, Menorca Airport, Valencia Airport, Lleida Airport, Asturias Airport and Santiago de Compostela Airport.
Module C
The largest of the Modules located in the east. It has 33 gates of which 9 have airbridges. It is used by Condor along with EasyJet and Norwegian Air Shuttle flights to Schengen destinations. The majority of airbridges have airberlin.com written on them. The southern area of the Module was worked on and reopened in May 2010. The refurbishment and expansion is so that the Module can handle more flights, and to improve ways to get into the pier as it is the longest walk from security control. There will also be a further 8 gates with airbridges, but there will still be 33 in total.[12]
Module D
Located in the south. It has 19 gates of which 10 have airbridges. All odd numbered gates are gates with a bus transfer. The majority of airbridges have airberlin.com written on them. During the closure of the southern area of Module C, it was used mainly for flights to Europe.
Other facilities
Previously Spanair (1986 - 2012) had its head office in the Spanair Building on the airport property.[13] Both Futura International Airways and Iberworld had large operational offices on the premises of the airport but these are no longer in use.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Swiftair[57] | Barcelona, Madrid, Ibiza, Menorca |
Statistics
Passenger statistics
Updated: 13 January 2020.[1] 2020 Data Provisional. |
Passengers | Movements | Cargo (kilos) | |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | 19,127,773 | 168,533 | |
2000 | 19,424,243 | 176,997 | 25,156,479 |
2001 | 19,206,964 | 169,603 | 23,068,964 |
2002 | 17,832,558 | 160,329 | 20,412,784 |
2003 | 19,185,919 | 168,988 | 19,935,677 |
2004 | 20,416,083 | 177,859 | 20,408,137 |
2005 | 21,240,736 | 182,028 | 21,025,694 |
2006 | 22,408,427 | 190,304 | 22,443,596 |
2007 | 23,228,879 | 197,384 | 22,833,556 |
2008 | 22,832,857 | 193,379 | 21,395,791 |
2009 | 21,203,041 | 177,502 | 17,086,478 |
2010 | 21,117,417 | 174,635 | 17,292,240 |
2011 | 22,726,707 | 180,152 | 15,777,101 |
2012 | 22,666,858 | 173,966 | 13,712,034 |
2013 | 22,768,032 | 170,140 | 12,236,854 |
2014 | 23,115,622 | 172,630 | 11,462,907 |
2015 | 23,745,023 | 178,254 | 11,373,639 |
2016 | 26,254,110 | 197,640 | 10,452,860 |
2017 | 27,950,655 | 208,787 | 10,191,236 |
2018 | 29,081,787 | 220,329 | 10,018,045 |
2019 | 29,721,123 | 217,218 | 9,021,606 |
2020 (May) | 2,286,825 | 23,214 | 2,906,360 |
Source: Aena Statistics[1] |
Route statistics
Rank | City | Passengers | Top carriers |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Düsseldorf, Germany | 1,567,561 | Lufthansa Group, Ryanair Group, Condor, TUI Group |
2 | Frankfurt, Germany | 1,139,923 | Lufthansa Group, Condor, Ryanair Group, TUI Group |
3 | Berlin-Tegel, Germany | 905,260 | EasyJet, Ryanair Group, Lufthansa Group, Sundair |
4 | Hamburg, Germany | 890,130 | Lufthansa Group, Ryanair Group, Condor, Sundair |
5 | Munich, Germany | 887,185 | Lufthansa Group, Ryanair Group, Condor, Vueling Airlines |
6 | Cologne, Germany | 854,845 | Lufthansa Group, Ryanair Group, TUI Group, Corendon Group |
7 | Stuttgart, Germany | 797,873 | Lufthansa Group, Ryanair Group, TUI Group, Condor |
8 | Manchester, United Kingdom | 790,489 | Jet2.com, Ryanair Group, TUI Group, EasyJet |
9 | London-Gatwick, United Kingdom | 772,157 | EasyJet, TUI Group, British Airways, Norwegian |
10 | Hannover, Germany | 643,195 | Lufthansa Group, Condor, TUI Group, Ryanair Group |
11 | Vienna, Austria | 480,600 | Ryanair Group, Lufthansa Group, Level, Vueling Airlines |
12 | Zürich, Switzerland | 479,420 | Lufthansa Group, Vueling Airlines, Germania, Helvetic Airways |
13 | London–Stansted, United Kingdom | 478,743 | Ryanair Group, Jet2.com, Easyjet, TUI Group |
14 | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 422,002 | Jet2.com, TUI Group, Ryanair Group, Thomas Cook Airlines |
15 | Bristol, United Kingdom | 364,671 | EasyJet, Ryanair Group, TUI Group, Thomas Cook Airlines |
16 | Stockholm–Arlanda, Sweden | 330,559 | Norwegian, Scandinavian Airlines, Thomas Cook Scandinavia, TUI Group |
17 | Newcastle, United Kingdom | 325,005 | Jet2.com, Ryanair Group, Easyjet, TUI Group |
18 | East Midlands, United Kingdom | 324,766 | Ryanair Group, Jet2.com, Thomas Cock Airlines, TUI Group |
19 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 316,981 | Norwegian, Scandinavian Airlines, Thomas Cock Scandinavia |
20 | Basel-Mulhouse, Franco-Swiss | 304,488 | EasyJet, TUI Group, Lufthansa Group |
Accidents and incidents
- On 4 January 1991, Douglas DC-3 EC-EQH of Aeromarket Express overran the runway on a cargo flight to Menorca Airport and was damaged beyond repair.[59]
- On 8 March 1993, Douglas C-47A EC-FAH of Aeromarket Express crashed on take-off while on a cargo flight to Madrid–Barajas Airport. Both crew were killed.[60]
- On 12 April 2002 Tadair Flight 306 operated by a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner EC-GKR a cargo flight from Madrid–Barajas Airport to Palma de Mallorca. Flight 306 crashed on landing on runway 24L, killing both pilots.[61]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "AENA passenger statistics and aircraftmovements". Aena.es.
- ^ a b Spanish AIP (AENA) Archived 7 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-Palma-Mallorca/es/Page/1046276292901//Presentacion.html AENA Aeropuerto de Palma de Mallorca
- ^ a b c d e f g "Aeropuerto de Palma de Mallorca - Historia". aena.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 September 2018.
- ^ "Palma de Mallorca airport history in the early 90s". Mallorca-pmi.airports-guides.com. 18 May 2014.
- ^ Alex Kuksin, ICQ 31622216. "Lufthansa and Iberia establish routes". Airports-worldwide.com.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Alex Kuksin, ICQ 31622216. "Palma de Mallorca Airport expansion". Airports-worldwide.com.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Air Spain Fleet Details and History". Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Alex Kuksin, ICQ 31622216. "Terminal A opening". Airports-worldwide.com.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ airliners.de - "Air Berlin shuts down Mallorca hub" (German) 18 November 2015
- ^ "AENA invertirá cerca de 120 millones en Son Sant Joan hasta finales de 2019".
- ^ "Module C Refurbishment". Majorca.info. 24 April 2010.
- ^ "Spanair to retain HQ in Palma." The Mallorca. 23 December 2008. Retrieved on 18 October 2009.
- ^ Liu, Jim (7 December 2018). "Aeroflot adds 2 European routes in S19". Routesonline. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ a b c Liu, Jim (19 November 2019). "Air Europa expands Morocco service in S20". routesonline.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Only Flight". tui.se.
- ^ a b c d e f "Only Flight". tui.no.
- ^ a b c d "Flight Timetable". tui.co.uk.
- ^ "Flying To Majorca - Customer Info - Direct Flights & Holidays From The Channel Islands". flydirect.je.
- ^ a b c d e f "Flight Timetable". TUI Airways. 18 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Online Flights". iaa.gov.il. 15 March 2018.
- ^ "TOUR OPERATOR TIMETABLE". milanbergamoairport.it. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "Live updates as the return of summer holiday flights to Majorca from Teesside Airport are announced". Gazette Live. 16 July 2019.
- ^ https://www.atlanticairways.com/en/book/routes/reykjav%C3%ADk
- ^ https://www.austrianaviation.net/detail/aua-nimmt-wien-palma-auf/
- ^ "Aviolet charter schedule" (PDF).
- ^ "Binter Canarias schedules new routes launch in May 2018".
- ^ https://mediacentre.britishairways.com/pressrelease/details/86/2019-319/11907?ref=Home
- ^ a b c d e f g "Charter flights at low prices". tui.pl.
- ^ Liu, Jim. "Corendon Airlines S20 Network expansion". Routesonline. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- ^ "Flights to Nuremberg". corendonairlines.com.
- ^ https://www.flightstats.com/v2/flight-tracker/EW/6836?year=2019&month=5&date=6&flightId=998853372
- ^ Evelop adds Spain – Portugal links in S18 Routesonline. 4 May 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Flight". ving.no.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Flight". ving.se.
- ^ Liu, Jim (5 February 2020). "Israir adds Palma Mallorca seasonal service in S20". Routesonline. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Only Flight". tui.dk.
- ^ "Only Flight". tui.fi.
- ^ laudamotion.com - Route network retrieved 6 June 2020
- ^ Liu, Jim. "Ryanair W19 Network changes summary as of 04OCT19". Routesonline. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryanair-launches-new-prague-route-to-palma-de-mallorca/
- ^ "TRONDHEIM AIRPORT - PALMA MALLORCA".
- ^ "SkyUp". skyup.aero.
- ^ a b "Flight". spies.dk.
- ^ "Flight". tjareborg.fi.
- ^ "Sundair". sundair.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ Liu, Jim. "Transavia France launches Montpellier base in April 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ Liu, Jim. "TUIfly S20 network additions as of 31OCT19". Routesonline. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ Liu, Jim. "TUIfly S19 network additions as of 25MAR19". Routesonline. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
- ^ Liu, Jim (3 January 2020). "TUIfly Nordic outlines Norrkoping network in S20". routesonline.com.
- ^ a b Liu, Jim. "Volotea outlines post-COVID 19 network expansion in S20". Routesonline. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ Liu, Jim. "Volotea S20 new routes as of 29NOV19". Routesonline. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ Liu, Jim. "Volotea S20 network additions as of 10OCT19". Routesonline. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ "Vueling S19 new routes as of 26DEC18". RoutesOnline. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ https://www.pasazer.com/news/43368/wizz,air,poleci,z,katowic,na,majorke.html
- ^ https://airlinergs.com/wizz-air-announces-new-holiday-routes-from-london-luton/
- ^ "Swiftair cargo routes". 11 December 2019.
- ^ "Aena.es". aena.es. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
- ^ "EC-EQH Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
- ^ "EC-FAH Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III EC-GKR Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI)". Aviation-safety.net. 12 April 2002.
External links
Media related to Palma de Mallorca Airport at Wikimedia Commons