Current Developments in Spain
Transport & Airlines
Jerez Airport Announces New Flight Plans
Jerez airport is to operate new flights to northern Europe from Spring 2007. There will be more flights to more destinations and more often. Jerez de la Frontera's International Airport (La Parra) is planning to significantly expand its flight programme from March 2007. New international destinations include Manchester, Copenhagen and Helsinki, and there will also be more flights direct from Jerez to Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao.
The new direct link between Jerez and Manchester comes thanks to the expansion of Monarch Airlines into the province of Cadiz. The firm is already selling tickets for the service which will start to operate on March 25th.
The growing popularity of Costa de la Luz, and Costa del Sol, has led two Scandinavian tour operators to embark on sending passengers directly to Jerez airport. The Scandinavian branch of the British group 'My Travel' is to launch a direct weekly link with Stockholm from Spring 2007, and another weekly flight between Jerez and Copenhagen from the summer. The main Finnish tour operator, Aurinkomatkat, has announced the start of a Jerez-Helsinki line also from next year.
Meanwhile, the volume of domestic flights from Jerez is also expected to increase significantly over the next year. After operating a link to Madrid from the terminal for the last year and a half, the company Spanair plans to start running two return flights a day between Jerez and Barcelona from May 2007. There is currently one flight a day between the two airports, run by Iberia, and Spanair predicts that the new competition will help reduce ticket prices by 50 per cent. Meanwhile, Spanair has also announced a daily flight from Jerez to Bilbao.
Furthermore, both Iberia and Spanair face new competition on the Jerez-Madrid route with the introduction of the company Vueling, which has announced that its flights between La Parra and the country's capital will start next year. Currently an average of 1,200 passengers fly between Jerez and Madrid every day.
The volume of passengers using Jerez's La Parra airport has increased by 62 per cent in the last five years, reflecting the flux of passengers increasing use of Málaga airport.
SUR in English October 27th to November 2nd (No 1160)
Malaga Airport Development
Málaga Airport is the southernmost airport on the European continent. It links 20 Spanish cities and more than 100 European cities, as well as diverse destinations in Africa and possible connections to America and Asia. As a tourist centre it is essentially an international airport; 75% of its flights come from foreign countries and 41% of them from Great Britain.
An Overview of Málaga Airport figures in 2005:
12.6 million passengers
123,950 take-offs and landings
More than 400 operations daily
More than 5,400 tonnes of Cargo
More than 200 airlines
It ranks fourth in the Spanish airport network and 25th in the European classification.
The new terminal building, with 251,000m2 and 86 check-in counters, consists of an annex to the Picasso Terminal (T2), which extends northward as a 241 metre-long pier parallel to the aircraft apron. The pier will have 20 boarding gates which will enable serving 12 aircrafts with air-bridges and another 8 aircraft in remote. Once the construction has been completed, the entire terminal area will have the capacity to handle 9,000 passengers an hour and more than 20 million passengers a year, doubling the airport's current capacity.
The investment for this project totals 191 million euros and it is projected to enter into service in 2008. Here's a breakdown of those areas of investment:
| Current Terminals | New Terminals | Total | |
| Passengers / hour | 4,500 | 4,500 | 9,000 |
| Check-in counters | 85 | 86 | 171 |
| Remote boarding gates | 14 | 8 | 22 |
| Air-bridge boarding gates | 14 | 12 | 26 |
| Total boarding gates | 28 | 20 | 48 |
The new car park for vehicles, south of the current one, will have 5 storeys, a surface area of 51,000m2 and a total capacity of 1,800 spaces. This action includes the construction of a new bus station and a new road network. The projected investment totals 76 million euros.
Both the North and East aprons are to be expanded too. The projected investment totals 26 million euros.
The new access links the airport terminal area and the Mediterranean motorway and the Gualalmar roundabout. This road will have two lanes in each direction.
The renovation of the electrical system is basic for the expansion of Málaga Airport. It includes a new power plant, the renovation of the current plant and substations and a network of galleries and facilities. The budget allocated for this project totals 31 million euros. Other actions included in this phase of development include new holding bays, a new taxiway for high-speed turnoff and a security and services centre.
It is projected that the airfield expansion investment will total 96 million euros. The construction of the second runway also involves a series of complementary actions, such as a new fire-fighting service building, a new aircraft apron and a south power plant.
The new terminal will be connected to the train station and the bus station. To facilitate access by automobile it will be linked to the future bypass to the north and there will be direct access by way of the Mediterranean motorway. Through these actions, Málaga has become one of the pioneering airports in fostering intermodal transportation.
The main airlines that use Málaga Airport are:
| The main airlines that use Málaga Airport are: | |
| Aerlingus | Iberia |
| Air Berlin | Jet2.com |
| Air Europa | LTE International Airways |
| Air Finland | LTU |
| Air France | Lufthansa |
| Air Madrid | Martinair Holland |
| Alitalia | Monarch Airlines |
| Austrian Airlines | My Travel Airways |
| Air Berlin | Regional Airlines |
| BMI Baby | Royal Air Maroc |
| British Airways | Ryanair |
| British Midland | Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) |
| Condor-Lufthansa | Spanair |
| Eujet | Star Airlines |
| Easy Jet | Thomas Cook |
| Excel Airways | Transavia |
| Finnair | Virgin Airlines |
| First Choice | Vueling |
| Hapag Lloyd | |
Source - www.andalucia.com