Gran Canaria Airport
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| Gran Canaria Airport Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria/Base Aérea de Gando |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: LPA - ICAO: GCLP | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | public | ||
| Operator | Aena | ||
| Serves | Gran Canaria | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 75 ft (23 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 03L/21R | 10,200 | 3,100 | Paved |
| 03R/21L | 10,200 | 3,100 | Paved |
Gran Canaria Airport (IATA: LPA, ICAO: GCLP), formerly known as Gando Airport, in Spanish Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria, is an airport located on Gran Canaria Island, Spain, in the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa. It is the largest airport in the Canary Islands and the only airport in the islands with two runways, allowing it to have up to 53 landings and take-offs per hour. The Airport is located to the east of Gran Canaria on the Bay of Gando (Bahía de Gando), about 18 km (11 mi) from the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and 25 km (15 mi) from the popular tourist areas in the south. It is an alternative landing site for the Space Shuttle.[1]
It is a hub for Binter Canarias Airlines.
Contents |
[edit] History
The airport opened on April 7, 1930 after King Alfonso XIII signed a royal order announcing that the military air force installations on the Bay of Gando would become a civilian airfield. In its 77 years of existence, the airport has become the largest gateway into the Canary Islands, as well as the largest in terms of passenger and cargo operations. It is the fifth largest airport in Spain.
[edit] Air disasters involving Gran Canaria Airport
On March 27, 1977, Pan Am Flight 1736, and KLM Flight 4805, the aircraft involved in the 1977 Tenerife disaster were bound for Gran Canaria International Airport. The airport had been closed after a terrorist bomb had struck the island. The aircraft, which were both Boeing 747s, were asked to divert to Tenerife's Los Rodeos Airport instead where they refueled and waited for the airport on Gran Canaria to re-open.
Upon re-opening of the Gran Canaria Airport, the two aircraft headed for the runway to continue their journeys. Due to heavy fog, and several misunderstood ATC communications, the KLM aircraft commenced takeoff on the runway while the Pan Am jet was still taxiing on it. The aircraft collided resulting in the deaths of 583 people, the deadliest air disaster in aviation history before the 9/11 attacks. All occupants of the KLM aircraft were killed, yet 54 passengers and 7 crew members on the Pan Am flight survived, including its captain.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
The airport has two terminals, one for European Union and Mainland Domestic flights (Terminal A), and the other for non-EU and interisland flights (Terminal B-C).
[edit] Terminal A
- airberlin (Berlin-Tegel, Cologne/Bonn, Dortmund, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Erfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Münster/Osnabrück, Nuremberg, Paderborn/Lippstadt, Zürich)
- Air Europa (Angelholm, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cork, Halmstad, Lanzarote, Madrid, Santiago de Compostela, Sevilla, Tenerife-South)
- Air Italy (Milan-Malpensa)
- Arkefly (Amsterdam)
- Austrian Airlines (Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Vienna)
- Binter Canarias (Nouakchott)
- Blue Panorama Airlines (Milan-Malpensa)
- Clickair (Barcelona, Sevilla)
- Condor Airlines (Bremen, Cologne/Bonn, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig/Halle, Munich, Stuttgart)
- easyJet (Geneva, London-Gatwick)
- EuroAtlantic Airways (Lisbon)
- Finnair (Helsinki)
- First Choice Airways (Belfast-International, Bristol, Dublin, London-Gatwick, Manchester)
- Flyglobespan (Edinburgh, Glasgow-International)
- Futura International Airways (Amsterdam, Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Exeter, Shannon)
- Hamburg International (Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Luxembourg, Saarbrücken)
- Hola Airlines
- Iberia Airlines (Dakar, Madrid)
- operated by Air Nostrum (Alicante, Málaga, Santander, Santiago, Valencia, Valladolid)
- Iberworld (Basle)
- Islas Airways (Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife-North)
- Jet2.com (Belfast-International, Leeds Bradford)
- Monarch Airlines (London Gatwick, London-Luton, Manchester)
- Neos (Milan-Malpensa)
- Niki (Salzburg, Vienna)
- Norwegian Air Shuttle (Bergen [begins 1 November], Oslo)
- Novair (Gothenburg, Oslo, Stockholm)
- Mauritania Airways (Nouadhibu, Nouakchott)
- Regional Air Lines (Agadir, Casablanca, Laayoune)
- Scandinavian Airlines (Oslo)
- Spanair (Alicante, Banjul, Barcelona, Bilbao, Dublin, Leipzig, Madrid, Malaga, Milan-Malpensa, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Vigo)
- Sterling Airlines (Billund, Copenhagen)
- Swiss International Air Lines (Zurich [begins June 22])
- TACV Cabo Verde Airlines (Praia)
- Thomas Cook Airlines (Belfast-International, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Glasgow-International, Leeds/Bradford, London-Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle)
- Thomsonfly (Bournemouth, Birmingham, Cardiff, Doncaster/Sheffield, East Midlands, Glasgow-International, London-Gatwick, London-Luton, Manchester, Newcastle)
- Transavia.com (Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Groningen, Maastricht, Rotterdam)
- TUIfly (Basel/Mulhouse, Berlin-Tegel, Bremen, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Leipzig/Halle, Memmingen, Münster/Osnabrück, Munich, Nuremberg, Paderborn, Stuttgart, Zweibrücken)
- TUIfly Nordic (Oslo)
- Vueling (Madrid, Sevilla)
- XL Airways (Bristol, London-Gatwick, Manchester)
[edit] Terminal B/C
- Belair (Zurich)
- Binter Canarias (El Aaiún, El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Funchal (Madeira), La Gomera, Lanzarote, La Palma, Layounne, Marrakesh, Nouakchott, Tenerife-North, Tenerife-South)
- Cabo Verde Airlines (Santa Maria)
- Cabo Verde Airlines operated by Cabo Verde Express (Praia, Santa Maria)
- Edelweiss (Tenerife-South, Zurich) [seasonal]
[edit] Ground transportation
The Airport is accessible by several island roadways leading from all points in the island, as well as special bus service available from most towns within Gran Canaria. Taxi service is considered the most efficient way since the island has its own taxi services, and low fares.
[edit] Military Use
There is an airbase of the Spanish Air Force to the east of the runways. Beyond several hangars opposite to the passenger terminal, the airbase contains ten shelters situated on the southern end of the eastern runway. They harbor F/A-18 Hornets of the Ala 46 fighter squadron, which defends the Spanish airspace around the Canary Islands.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Gran Canaria Airport Official Website - (English)
- Gran Canaria Airport Official Website - (Spanish)
- Official Gran Canaria Tourism Website
