Spain's Major Airports & Air Travel
Spain currently operates some 48 airports and two heliports of Ceuta and Algeciras. They are located in every corner of the country as you will find in this Spanish airport guide, they are generally in excellent condition with modern installations and facilities as you would expect to find in one of the worlds leading tourism destinations.
Although air traffic decreased slightly last year more than 42 Million passengers where processed through the gates of Spanish airports for the year 2017 with 1.7 Million flight operations with over 650 million kilos of cargo processed.
The Spanish Airport Authority ( Aena ) and is ranked amongst the top four providers of air navigation in Europe and has stakes in Londons- Luton and Orlandos-Sandford airports.
In 2018 the busiest airport in Spain was once again Madrid’s Adolfo Suarez Airport ( previously Barajas ) which processed almost 43 million passengers.
Terminal 4 Madrid Airport
Spain's Busiest's Airports in 2018
Airport/Passenger Numbers
- Madrid – Adolfo Suarez – 48 Million
- Barcelona El Prat – 43 Million
- Palma de Mallorca – 27 Million
- Malaga – 17 Million
- Alicante – 12 Million
- Gran Canaria – 11 Million
At the bottom of the ranking is Huesca airport in the Pyrenees which processed just 824 passengers.
The International Code for all Spanish Airports
- Alicante Airport ALC
- Almeria Airport (LEI)
- Asturias Airport (OVD)
- Barcelona Airport (BLA)
- Bilbao Airport (BIO)
- FuerteventuraAirport (FUE)
- Girona Airport (GRO)
- Granada Airport (GRX)
- Gran Canaria Airport (LPA)
- Ibiza Airport (IBZ)
- Jerez Airport (XRY)
- La Coruna Airport (LCG)
- Lanzarote Airport (ACE)
- Lanzarote Airport (ACE)
- La Palma Airport (SPC)
- Madrid Airport (MAD)
- Malaga Airport (AGP)
- Menorca Airport (MAH)
- Murcia San Javier Airport (MJV)
- Palma de Mallorca (PMI)
- Reus Airport (REU)
- Santander Airport (SDR)
- Santiago Airport (SCQ)
- Seville Airport (SVQ)
- Tenerife Reina Sofia Airport (TFS)
- Tenerife North Airport (TFN)
- Tenerife South Airport (TCI)
- Valencia Airport (VLC)
- Valladolid Airport (VLL)
- Vigo Airport (VGO)
- Vitoria Airport (VIT)
- Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ)
Major airlines flying into Spanish Airports
The national airline of Spain is Iberia with all the major airlines of the world using flying in and out of Spain on a daily basis. The top budget flight carriers continue to increase market share. The main pioneers of budget flights to Spain include Easyjet, Ryanair and Veuling.
Telephone numbers of all the major airline companies based in Spain.
Iberia – Tel. 901 111 500
Air Berlin. Tel. 902 333 335
Air Lingus – Tel. 902 502 737
Air Europe – Tel. 902 401 501
British Airways – Tel. 902 111 333
Easy Jet – Tel. 902 599 900
Lufthansa – Tel. 902 883 882
Qatar Airways. Tel. 917 699 770
Ryanair – Tel. 00 44 871 2460011
United Airlines. Tel. 900 961 266
Vueling. Tel. 807 300 720
US Airways. Tel. 901 117 073
Wizz Air. Tel. 807 444 041
Emirates. Tel. 912 757 792
Alitalia. Tel. 902 100 323
American Airlines. Tel. 902 115 570
Spanish airport security
As we all now know security measures in most countries has been increased due to the present climate. The EU has adopted new security regulations regarding the transportation of liquids in hand luggage. The new regulations, effective as from November 2006, are for all EU airports, as well as those in Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. This means that, at security checkpoints, you and your hand luggage must be checked for liquids in addition to other prohibited articles. However, the new rules do not limit the liquids that you can buy at shops located beyond the point where you show your boarding pass or on-board an aircraft operated by an EU airline.
Security Boarding
The national Spanish security forces and privately contracted security companies ensure passenger safety al all Spanish airports. The security forces include the national police, civil guard, regional police and local municipal police.
All passengers are required to follow the following procedures and rules when it comes to boarding an aircraft.
- All passengers accessing boarding areas must pass through a security control by walking through a metal detector arch and passing their hand baggage and any other objects they may be carrying through X-ray screening equipment.
- In line with European Union regulations, extra safety measures are in place at all Spanish airports to reinforce the safety of passengers and flights without affecting the overall quality of service. These measures include the inspection of 100% of checked-in luggage and random manual inspections of passengers and hand luggage.
- European Commission Regulation laws lays down measures for the implementation of the common basic standards on aviation security, lists the prohibited articles which passengers may not carry into security restricted areas or the cabin of an aircraft, and those not allowed in checked-in baggage destined for the aircraft hold.
Checking In
Passengers accessing boarding areas must pass through a a metal-detector arch at a security checkpoint and their hand luggage and any other objects that they are carrying, these include coats, jackets, laptops, liquids, mobile phones, keys etc , all items must undergo an x-ray inspection. Passengers may also be subjected to random manual inspections by officials at the security check-in area.
– Before going through the security checkpoint, all passengers will be asked to show their boarding passes.
– To help objects pass through the scanner, specially small articles, must be placed on a trays provided for passengers.
Passengers are required to:
- Take off their jacket and/or overcoat and put them in the tray. These items must be examined separately whilst passengers are being inspected.
- Take their laptop computer, or any other large electrical item, out of its case and place it in the tray so that it can be inspected separately from the case and the rest of their hand luggage at the security checkpoints.
- It is also recommended that passengers remove their belts before passing through the metal-detector arch.
Passengers who for health reasons have implants (pacemakers, cochlear implants, etc.) or appliances such as metal prostheses must inform security personnel of their situation before going through the metal detectors, so that they can be inspected manually.
Schengen Countries
Flights entering Spanish territory are classified according to their origin or destination, in three groups: Schengen, EU Non-Schengen and Third Countries.
Schengen Countries : Flights originating in or with destination to countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement. Citizens from these countries may cross internal borders freely. Domestic flights are considered Schengen flights. The countries are Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Netherlands Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Sweden
Non-Schengen EU Countries Flights originating in or with destination to European Union member states that have not joined the Schengen agreement. There is no free circulation for these people.
Flights originating in or with destination to non-European Union member states that have not joined the Schengen agreement.
The web site authority which takes care of all the Spanish Airports is Aena . One of Aenas top priorities is to ensure customer care and security, you can download a leaflet on passenger rights at Aena – Airport Authorities
Car hire is available at all the major destinations and airports around Spain. Book online and save money on your next car rental to Spain. Collect from any airport from just £5 per day – all inclusive !
This airport guide provides information on the main airports which deal with International passenger traffic only, Airports which are used for freight, internal flights only or are attached to military installations are not included in the list on the right hand side.
