Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto de Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández, Valencian: Aeroport d'Alacant-Elx Miguel Hernández), (IATA: ALC, ICAO: LEAL), is an international airport located about 9 km (5.6 mi) southwest of the city of Alicante and about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) east of the city of Elche in Spain. Alicante–Elche is the busiest airport in south-eastern Spain and serves both the southern part of the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia.
Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport[1] Aeropuerto de Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Aeroport d'Alacant-Elx Miguel Hernández | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Owner/Operator | Aena | ||||||||||
Serves | Alicante, Elche, Costa Blanca, Murcia and Albacete | ||||||||||
Location | Elche (Province of Alicante) | ||||||||||
Focus city for | |||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 43 m / 141 ft | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 38°16′56″N 00°33′29″W / 38.28222°N 0.55806°W | ||||||||||
Website | aena.es | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||
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Sources: Passenger Traffic, AENA;[2] |
The airport is a base for Air Nostrum, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair and Vueling. Passenger traffic increased significantly in the 2010s, beating its own yearly record from 2013 to 2019; in 2019 it set a record at 15 million passengers. It is the largest airport in the Valencian Community (well ahead of Valencia and Castellón),[3] one of the 50 busiest in Europe and was Spain's fifth busiest airport in 2019.[4] Up to 80% of all passenger flights are international.[4] The largest numbers of passengers arrive from the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and Sweden.[5] Popular domestic destinations are Madrid, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona.
History
editEl 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 at the airport was Convair Metropolitan by Aviaco.[6] In November 1969, Iberia established regular connections to Madrid and Barcelona.[7]
Historically, up until 2003, Iberia was the leading airline at the airport.[8] With the decline of conventional airlines, low-cost EasyJet took the lead in 2004.[8] In June 2006, Avianca commenced a weekly flight from Bogotá to Barcelona whose outbound leg included a stop in Alicante. This was the city's first transatlantic service. Avianca flew the route with a Boeing 767.[9][10] In 2008, the airline ended service to Alicante after Spanish authorities granted it permission to operate the flight nonstop in both directions.[11]
In November 2007, Ryanair, the largest European low-cost airline, established a base at Alicante.[12] It has since grown to become one of the leading carriers at the airport, and by 2011 it had increased its presence further with eleven based aircraft, 62 routes, and had carried more than 3 million passengers.
In March 2011, Alicante-Elche's current terminal opened, which replaced the previous 2 terminals.[13]
The airport is located within Elche's comarca and so there had been a historical petition from Elche to include the city's name in the official name of the airport. On 12 July 2013, the name of the airport was officially changed from Aeropuerto de Alicante to Aeropuerto de Alicante–Elche[14] with the IATA airport code (ALC) remaining unchanged.
In 2015, the number of passengers increased by 5,1% to 10,574,484. The passenger traffic has increased in every year since 2000, with the exception of 2009, 2012 and 2020. By 2015 the largest number of passengers was carried by Ryanair (2,992,984), followed by EasyJet (1,285,221) and Vueling (1,093,494). Norwegian Air Shuttle (893,319) is the distant fourth.[2][15]
On 23 July 2016, the airport registered its busiest day of operations to date, handling 347 flights—with an average of one flight every 3 minutes—and about 58,000 passengers in a single day.[16]
In 2020, the airport recorded more than 11 million less passengers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
In 2021, the airport was renamed again, this time to Aeropuerto de Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández, to mark the 110th anniversary of the birth of Spanish poet and playwright Miguel Hernández.[17]
In 2023, reached 15.75 million passengers, representing an increase of 19.2% compared to 2022.[citation needed]
Terminals
editTerminal N is the only terminal currently in public use.
Terminal N
editIn November 2004, the airport's operator Aena approved plans to construct a new terminal for ALC, as a response to the airport's continuous passenger growth. Construction began in 2005, with an initial planned completion of 2009/10. After more than 5 years of construction, Terminal N (Nueva Área Terminal) officially opened on 23 March 2011. All flight operations were transferred to this terminal on the following day. The first flight to depart from Terminal N was a Ryanair flight to Memmingen. The terminal has an area of 333,500 square metres (3,590,000 sq ft), more than six times the size of the previous 2 terminals and has a capacity of 20 million passengers a year.[13] Terminal N was constructed to the east of terminals 1 and 2 and includes 96 check-in desks, 40 gates, including 15 with airbridges, and 16 baggage claim carousels.[18] 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.
In October 2011, Ryanair terminated 31 routes after airport operator Aena demanded that Ryanair pay over €2 million a year for the use of Terminal N's air bridges, a facility that Ryanair had called "unnecessary" as the airline prefers to use mobile stairways for boarding and disembarking. However, Ryanair have since re-increased their number of routes from the airport.[19][20]
Former terminals
editBy 1970, the airport was handling close to 1 million passengers, which prompted the construction of a new passenger terminal, the first phase opening in 1972 for international flights and the second phase opening in 1975 for domestic flights.[21] In 1978, passenger numbers exceeded 2 million.[22] In 1980, the runway was extended to three kilometres.[6]
During the 1990s, the terminals were modernised and expanded in order to accommodate the airport's rising passenger numbers. A new control tower and office building, together with operation and business centres, were constructed and five air bridges were installed to facilitate boarding. Car parking capacity was increased, the aircraft apron was expanded and a new runway exit was also constructed.[21]
While construction on Terminal N was underway, Aena approved plans for an extension to the existing terminal, which would act as an auxiliary until the new terminal was complete. The adjacent extension opened in January 2007 and was named Terminal 2 (T2) and the existing terminal was renamed Terminal 1 (T1).[22]
Terminals 1 and 2 have remained closed, yet structurally intact, since 2011. There has since been speculation that they may reopen in the future.[23][24] Terminal 1 (T1) had 39 check-in desks, 11 departure gates (5 with airbridges) and 9 baggage claim carousels, while terminal 2 (T2) had 14 check-in desks, 6 gates (none with airbridges), and 2 baggage claim carousels.
Airlines and destinations
editThe following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Alicante–Elche Airport:
Statistics
editAnnual traffic
editPassengers | Aircraft movements | Cargo (tonnes) | |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | 6,038,266 | 56,427 | 7,745 |
2001 | 6,542,121 | 56,550 | 7,923 |
2002 | 7,010,322 | 59,268 | 6,548 |
2003 | 8,195,454 | 66,571 | 5,848 |
2004 | 8,571,144 | 71,387 | 6,036 |
2005 | 8,795,705 | 76,109 | 5,193 |
2006 | 8,893,720 | 76,813 | 4,931 |
2007 | 9,120,631 | 79,756 | 4,533 |
2008 | 9,578,304 | 81,097 | 5,982 |
2009 | 9,139,607 | 74,281 | 3,199 |
2010 | 9,382,935 | 74,474 | 3,112 |
2011 | 9,913,764 | 75,572 | 3,011 |
2012 | 8,855,764 | 62,468 | 2,527 |
2013 | 9,638,835 | 68,305 | 2,589 |
2014 | 10,066,067 | 71,571 | 2,637 |
2015 | 10,575,288 | 74,086 | 3,587 |
2016 | 12,344,945 | 87,113 | 5,461 |
2017 | 13,706,513 | 89,527 | 5,040 |
2018 | 13,981,320 | 96,734 | 4,013 |
2019 | 15,047,840 | 101,408 | 4,032 |
2020 | 3,739,499 | 37,153 | 3,519 |
2021 | 5,841,181 | 51,505 | 3,984 |
2022 | 13,202,880 | 90,109 | 4,641 |
2023 | 15,747,678 | 100,547 | 4,462 |
Source: Aena Statistics[68] |
Busiest routes
editRank | Destination | Passengers | Change 2021 / 22 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Manchester | 722,771 | 241% |
2 | London-Gatwick | 579,083 | 240% |
3 | Brussels | 442,976 | 64% |
4 | Amsterdam | 436,483 | 49% |
5 | Oslo-Gardermoen | 411,426 | 224% |
6 | London-Stansted | 372,247 | 165% |
7 | Bristol | 359,707 | 296% |
8 | Stockholm-Arlanda | 352,308 | 106% |
9 | Birmingham | 332,987 | 257% |
10 | East Midlands | 312,524 | 286% |
11 | Eindhoven | 304,889 | 78% |
12 | Leeds-Bradford | 274,374 | 332% |
13 | Dublin | 267,878 | 173% |
14 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 242,230 | 259% |
15 | London-Luton | 241,726 | 185% |
16 | Copenhagen | 238,677 | 65% |
17 | Glasgow | 235,084 | 377% |
18 | Brussels-Charleroi | 227,707 | 67% |
19 | Edinburgh | 210,872 | 375% |
20 | Paris-Charles de Gaulle | 196,246 | 1735% |
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[69] |
Rank | Destination | Passengers | Change 2021 / 22 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Palma de Mallorca | 389,734 | 95% |
2 | Barcelona | 364,913 | 111% |
3 | Madrid | 280,302 | 94% |
4 | Bilbao | 188,276 | 75% |
5 | Santiago de Compostela | 170,041 | 131% |
6 | Ibiza | 116,282 | 66% |
7 | Asturias | 107,236 | 119% |
8 | Tenerife-North | 103,398 | 61% |
9 | Seville | 55,124 | 482% |
10 | Gran Canaria | 45,983 | 108% |
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[69] |
Ground transport
editAlicante airport is accessible by buses, taxis, and private cars on automobile road N-338. New car parking was opened in 2011 together with the new terminal. employs a modern sensor system with displays.
Rail link
editThe new terminal of the airport was built with space allocated for a railway station and an Alicante Tram stop. In 2019, the Generalitat Valenciana granted €50,000 towards a feasibility study in connecting Alicante Airport to the rail network. [70] The same year, the Ministry of Development put out to tender the contract to build the airport rail link to form part of the Cercanías Murcia/Alicante commuter rail network.[71]
Bus station
editAlicante airport has one bus stop for all the bus lines operating at the airport. The airport is connected with the city of Alicante by the C6 bus line.[72] There are also hourly bus services to Benidorm and Torrevieja.
Accidents and incidents
edit- In September 2013 a baby died at the airport shortly after arriving with relatives on a flight from London after the child's mother placed the baby in a carrier onto a conveyor belt used for bulky luggage items. The belt activated due to having detected the carrier's weight, and the baby became tangled in the machine's rollers.[73]
- On April 10, 2017, a Jet2 Boeing 757-200 suffered a tailstrike during landing, damaging the area around the lower tail. The Spanish Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission determined the copilot, who was flying, left the nose too high during the landing and the captain failed to intervene. The copilot, who was on his final day of training after working for Jet2 for two years, reported to investigators he felt stressed due to pressure from Jet2 and was sleeping poorly. Jet2 fired the copilot following the accident.[74]
- In January 2020 a fire in the international terminal's roof caused a 24-hour closure of the airport, with the diversion of 160 flights.[75]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Alicante-Elche airport to be named after iconic poet Miguel Hernández, victim of Franco's régime". thinkSPAIN. 7 November 2020.
- ^ a b c "Estadsticas – Aeropuertos Espaoles y Navegacin Area – aena-aeropuertos.es". Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Los aeropuertos de la Comunidad Valenciana registran cifras históricas a un mes de que termine el año". 12 December 2023.
- ^ a b Antonio Martín (3 February 2018). "El Altet, de escala del correo francés a África al quinto aeropuerto español en 50 años". El Mundo. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ Alicante Plaza (11 January 2017). "El Altet cierra 2016 con 12.344.945, su récord histórico" (in Spanish). Alicante Plaza. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ a b "Alicante Airport". www.airports-worldwide.com. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- ^ "History – Alicante-Elche Airport – Aena". Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ a b New terminal should help Alicante pass 10 million mark this summer; Ryanair now accounts for one-third of traffic anna.aero, Airport Analysis, 23 March 2011
- ^ Moltó, Ezequiel (16 June 2006). "La policía retiene a 11 colombianos sin visado en el primer vuelo transoceánico de L'Altet". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ "Avianca se alista para Barcelona". Portafolio (in Spanish). 7 June 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- ^ "El Altet pierde el vuelo directo que operaba Avianca con Bogotá". Información (in Spanish). 29 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ Ryanair announces 21st base in Alicante, Spain Archived 12 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine Ryanair News Release, 09.08.07
- ^ a b "New terminal opens at Alicante Airport". Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "III. Otras Disposiciones - Ministerio de Fomento" (PDF). Boletin Oficial del Estado. 12 July 2013.
- ^ "Introduction – Alicante-Elche Airport – Aena". Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Paco Escribano (25 July 2016). "Jornada histórica en el aeropuerto de Alicante-Elche con un vuelo cada 3 minutos" (in Spanish). INFORMACIÓN. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ^ "ARCHIVED - Alicante-Elche Airport officially changes its name".
- ^ Alicante Airport New Terminal, AENA Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine The airport in figures.
- ^ "Ryanair to Make Drastic Cuts at Alicante". Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "Ryanair launches summer calendar in Alicante with 74 routes". Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b "History". Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Cronología del aeropuerto de Alicante-Elche hasta el 50 aniversario". 2 February 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ Old Alicante Airport Terminals to Reopen Archived 9 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine by Mark Nolan, The Leader Newspaper, 2011-12-09
- ^ "El Altet encarga a Quarto Proyectos convertir la terminal sin uso en la nueva sede de Jet2". Alicanteplaza.
- ^ "Air Baltic website".
- ^ "AIR NOSTRUM NS23 PORTUGAL SCHEDULED CHARTER SERVICE ADDITIONS".
- ^ Davies, Phil (29 June 2023). "Agents gain early access to packages as EasyJet adds 15 Birmingham routes". Travel Weekly.
- ^ "Essex airport announces long-awaited return of its 'most popular' route". 22 August 2023.
- ^ https://www.aeropuerto-alicante-elche.es/2024/06/easyjet-nueva-ruta-alicante-elche-napoles.html [bare URL]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "EasyJet operará 11 nuevas rutas gracias a la apertura de la base de operaciones".
- ^ "New Routes and Destinations". 6 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Eurowings flies to more destinations in summer 2022 than ever before".
- ^ "Eurowings expands in Prague with new summer destinations for 2022". 2 November 2021.
- ^ Finnair adds frequencies to Japan and Europe for the upcoming winter season company.finnair.com 14 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018
- ^ Casey, David (13 January 2022). "Icelandair Unveils 'Ambitious' Summer Schedule With Three New Routes". Routesonline. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/bournemouth-airport-jet2-tui-ryanair-b2518690.html [bare URL]
- ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240716-lsns2532q [bare URL]
- ^ "Jet2 unveils 11th base at Liverpool John Lennon Airport".
- ^ "Route map". norwegian.com.
- ^ a b c d "Norwegian NS24 Network Additions – 14NOV23". AeroRoutes.
- ^ "Aalborg Lufthavn sender nordjyder til Barcelona igen".
- ^ "Ryanair reabre la ruta entre Alicante y Barcelona tras 11 años".
- ^ "Ryanair". www.ryanair.com.
- ^ https://www.fly4free.pl/nowe-trasy-z-katowic-od-258pln/ [bare URL]
- ^ "Klagenfurt: Ryanair adds Alicante and Palma de Mallorca". aviation.direct (in German). 17 November 2022.
- ^ "Rayanir website". Ryanair.com. [not specific enough to verify]
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- ^ "Norwich destinations".
- ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240716-frns24 [bare URL]
- ^ "Boeingi Ryanaira polecą z Rzeszowa do Alicante".
- ^ "Добри новини от Ryanair: Още 2 нови дестинации през 2024 г." 18 December 2023.
- ^ "Ryanair potwierdza: Wracamy na Lotnisko Chopina. Na początek pięć kierunków". Rzeczpospolita.
- ^ "RYANAIR NS24 NETWORK ADDITIONS – 10DEC23". Aeroroutes. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Official Ryanair website".
- ^ a b c "Ryanair NW23 Network Changes – 17SEP23".
- ^ "Ryanair to launch new routes from Cardiff Airport - sources reveal". December 2023.
- ^ "Ryanair anuncia una nueva ruta entre Alicante y Turín".
- ^ "Swiss expands Geneva European network from June 2019". Routesonline.
- ^ "TAP Air Portugal Suspends Alicante Service in NW23". AeroRoutes. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ "Transavia vliegt komende zomer vanaf Brussels Airport - Travelpro". 21 December 2021.
- ^ "Flight Timetable". www.tui.co.uk.
- ^ "Volotea de Madrid a Toulouse y Faro | Fly News". 30 October 2019.
- ^ "Vueling adds new London-Alicante service to summer schedule".
- ^ "Media | Widerøe".
- ^ a b "Вісім нових рейсів Wizz Air із чотирьох аеропортів Польщі".
- ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240716-w4w6ns24 [bare URL]
- ^ "Inicio". www.aena.es. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Inicio". www.aena.es. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ "Los accesos a El Altet, la variante de Benissa y unir la A-31 con la A-35, las inversiones de Fomento en 2019". Alicante Plaza (in Spanish). 14 January 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ "Contract for first phase of Murcia-Alicante Airport rail link put out to tender". Murcia Today. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ^ "Bus Travel to and from Alicante Airport". Alicante Airport Website. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- ^ Williams, Rob (20 September 2013). "Five-month-old baby boy killed in freak accident on Spanish airport conveyor belt". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ Gildea, Samantha (7 November 2018). "'Stressed' Jet2 copilot was sacked after botched Alicante landing, report reveals". LeedsLive. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "30,000 PASSENGERS AFFECTED BY ALICANTE-ELCHE AIRPORT FIRE". English Radio News. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
External links
editMedia related to Alicante Airport at Wikimedia Commons