João Paulo II Airport

Ponta-Delgada-João Paulo II Airport
Aeroporto João Paulo II
IATA: PDL – ICAO: LPPD
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Government of Portugal
Operator ANA Aeroportos de Portugal
Serves Ponta Delgada
Location Relva
Elevation AMSL 79 m / 259 ft
Coordinates 37°44′31″N 025°41′52″W / 37.74194°N 25.69778°WCoordinates: 37°44′31″N 025°41′52″W / 37.74194°N 25.69778°W
Website ana.pt
Map
LPPD

Location of Ponta Delgada-Joao Paulo II in the archipelago of the Azores

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12/30 2,497 8,192 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft movements 11,781
Passengers 928,801
Sources: Portuguese AIP[1]
ANA

João Paulo II Airport (IATA: PDL, ICAO: LPPD), named after Pope John Paul II, is an international airport located on the island of São Miguel, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Situated 2 km (1.2 mi) west of the city centre of Ponta Delgada, it is the primary (and busiest airport) in the Azores, as well as the fifth largest infrastructure managed by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal; with the construction of the terminal in 1995, by 2005 the airport served a total of 873,500 passengers.[1]

History

The airport was inaugurated in 24 August 1969 by President Admiral Américo Tomás, after its construction was planned six years earlier, in 1963.[2] Transferred from Santana, at the time of its opening, the runway was 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) long and was then referred to as the Aeroporto da Nordela, owing to its location at the extreme northwest of Ponta Delgada.[2] It was built in order to serve inter-island connections and the continent, using a single Boeing 737 from the national flag carrier (TAP33).[2]

Yet, it was only two years later that first regular flights to Lisbon were initiated.[2]

On May 1995, at the inauguration of the actual airport terminal, the facility received the designation João Paulo II, in honour of the visit of the Pope to the Azores in 1991.

"This airport, is part of the integrated history and economic and social development of the Azores, in particular of the Micaelenses, and constitutes an relevant equipment at the service of air transport, not just of the passengers, but also the transport and mail. It is the infrastructure with the largest expression of air traffic in the autonomous region of the Azores, reaching in 2011 935,000 passengers."

Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Flores, Santa Maria, Horta and Beja, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.[3] With this concession, ANA was also provided to the planning, development and construction of future infrastructures.[3]

Airlines and destinations

It has scheduled domestic flights to all islands of the Azores, plus Madeira and the mainland, namely (Lisbon, Porto and Faro). Joao Paulo II Airport also accommodates international flights to and from Europe and North America. The airport is the major hub for the SATA Group of airlines, which includes both inter-island SATA Air Açores and trans-national SATA International,[4] and from April 2015 as a base for Ryanair.[5]

Airlines Destinations
Air Berlin Düsseldorf
Arkefly Seasonal: Amsterdam
easyJet Lisbon
Jetairfly Seasonal: Brussels
Primera Air Seasonal: Billund, Copenhagen
Ryanair Lisbon, London-Stansted, Porto
SATA Air Açores Corvo Island, Flores Island, Graciosa Island, Horta, Pico Island, Santa Maria, São Jorge Island, Terceira
SATA International Boston, Frankfurt, Lisbon, London-Gatwick (ends 17 October 2015), Paris-Orly (ends 2 October 2015), Porto, Toronto-Pearson
Seasonal: Montréal-Trudeau
SATA International
operated by SATA Air Açores		Funchal, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Seasonal: Faro
TAP Portugal Lisbon

Busiest routes

Busiest routes from João Paulo II Airport (2010)[6]
Rank Country City Passengers Carriers
1 Portugal Lisbon 340,634 SATA Internacional, TAP Portugal
2 Portugal Terceira 103,293 SATA Air Açores
3 Portugal Porto 80,454 SATA Internacional
4 Portugal Santa Maria 51,799 SATA Air Açores
5 Portugal Horta 48,652 SATA Air Açores
6 United States Boston 41,632 SATA Internacional
7 Canada Toronto 34,556 SATA Internacional
8 Portugal Pico 27,691 SATA Air Açores
9 Portugal Flores 20,587 SATA Air Açores
10 Portugal Funchal 18,568 SATA Air Açores

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 AIP Part 3 - AD 2 Aerodromes
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Fátima Cerqueira Dias (2010)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 ANA Aeroportos: Relatório de Gestão e Contas (2011) (PDF), Lisbon, Portugal: ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, SA, 2011, p. 1115, retrieved 2 January 2014
  4. ↑ SATA Press Kit (2009), p.8
  5. ↑ http://corporate.ryanair.com/news/news/141205-new-base-no-72-in-the-azores/?market=en
  6. ↑ Annual Traffic Statistics
Sources

External links

Media related to Ponta Delgada-João Paulo II International Airport at Wikimedia Commons