• More Arrests in Glacis Estate As RGP Tackle Anti-Social Behaviour
  • More Arrests in Glacis Estate As RGP Tackle Anti-Social Behaviour

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Gibraltar Airport

Gibraltar Airport – An Uphill Battle Between The British and The Spanish

 

Gibraltar AirportLocated on the southern most tip of the Costa del Sol, just a stone's throw from North Africa and on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Gibraltar Airport handles over 300,000 passengers every year. The airport is not only the gateway to Gibraltar but also to the western Costa del Sol and the Province of Cadiz, and with a flight time of less than three hours, it is hardly surprising that Gibraltar is so popular with the Brits.

 

Building for the future

The Rock of Gibraltar belongs to the British, but back in 2006 it was agreed to share the airport with Spain by having one half standing on Gibraltar soil and the other half on Spanish soil. However, whilst phase 1 has been completed, with Gibraltar having opened their new terminal at a cost of around 70 million Euros, phase 2 has yet to begin. The Spanish, whose budget is a mere 7 million Euros, have not yet started work. Disagreements between the AENA and the Town Hall of La Linea de la Conception seems to have prevented any work from taking place.

The plans are for a three-storey terminal with parking for 300-400 cars with the Town Hall managing the car park as an income-generating project, as part of the deal with the AENA. Once their disagreements have been settled and the project is under way, it is estimated that the new Spanish terminal will be completed in 12 months. 

 

Brief History

Gibraltar airport was constructed during World War Two at a time when Gibraltar was an important British naval base, on what was then the Territory's racecourse. Opened in 1939, it was an emergency airfield for use by the navy. The runway was eventually extended to allow larger aircraft to use it, by reclaiming land from the Bay of Gibraltar, using rock which had been blasted during work carried out on military tunnels.

 

The old terminal

For several years the old terminal had been seen as small to cope with the amount of passengers passing through it, having only 10 check in desks, 1 baggage carousel, 1 security desk and 2 doors and covering an area of just 20,000 square metres. However this has now changed with the opening of the new terminal on 26th November 2011 which handles all of the arrivals, leaving the old terminal to cope purely with departures. The plan is eventually for the old terminal to be demolished once phase 2 has been completed.

 

The new terminal

Gibraltar AirportThe first passengers to use the new terminal arrived on an Easy Jet flight from Liverpool and were able to benefit from 2 new baggage claim areas, as well as new shops and associated facilities. Friends who came to meet the arrivals also enjoyed a new concourse area with retail and catering facilities.

The new terminal of the airport in Gibraltar is 15,000 square metres larger than the old one at 35,000 square metres, and besides having 2 baggage carousels also has 3 gates but no airbridges, meaning passengers have to walk into the terminal. All aircraft at Gibraltar airport now use the completed stands at these 3 gates. However, passengers using the old terminal are transported by bus from the terminal. The new terminal has a capacity to handle up to one million passengers a year.  Plans are also in place to build extra roads and a tunnel under the runway to ease traffic congestion, but progress on these works has been halted.

 

Travelling to Gibraltar

Numerous Gibraltar attractions entice regular visitors from the United Kingdom, one of which is its tax-free status. Passengers can choose to travel to Gibraltar from Heathrow, Luton, Gatwick, Manchester and Liverpool Airports using a choice of British airways, Easy Jet and Monarch.

 

Photos By Leo Hayes