Gran Canaria Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Gran Canaria Airport
nativename = Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria
nativename-a =
nativename-r = Base Aérea de Gando


image-width =
caption =
IATA = LPA
ICAO = GCLP
type = Public
owner =
operator = Aena
city-served =
location = Gran Canaria, Spain
elevation-f = 75
elevation-m = 23
coordinates = Coord|27|55|45|N|15|23|16|W|type:airport|display=inline,title
website =
metric-elev =
metric-rwy =
r1-number = 03L/21R
r1-length-f = 10,200
r1-length-m = 3,100
r1-surface = Paved
r2-number = 03R/21L
r2-length-f = 10,200
r2-length-m = 3,100
r2-surface = Paved
stat-year =
stat1-header =
stat1-data =
stat2-header =
stat2-data =
footnotes =

Gran Canaria Airport airport codes|LPA|GCLP, formerly known as Gando Airport, in Spanish "Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria", is an airport located on Gran Canaria Island, Spain. 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. [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/facility/sts-els.htm Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites ] ]

It is a hub for Binter Canarias Airlines.

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.

Air disasters involving Gran Canaria Airport

On August 20, 2008, Spanair Flight JK 5022 heading for Gran Canaria from Madrid Barajas Airport crashed on take off with 166 passengers and 9 crew on its second take-off attempt. This flight was also operating as a Lufthansa codeshare flight. The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82. The total dead have not been confirmed but approximately 150 passengers and crew have been killed according to Spanish Police.

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.

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).

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)
*Hamburg International (Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Luxembourg, Saarbrücken)
*Hola Airlines
*Iberia Airlines (Dakar, Madrid)
**operated by Air Nostrum (Alicante, Ciudad Real [begins October 28, 2008] , Málaga, Santander, Santiago, Valencia, Valladolid)
*Iberworld (Basle)
*Islas Airways (Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife-North)
*Jet2.com (Belfast-International, Leeds Bradford)
*Jetairfly (Brussels-Charleroi) [begins October 24]
*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 (Zürich)
*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, London-Stansted [Winter Nov-Apr only] , 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)

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 (Praia)
* Edelweiss (Tenerife-South, Zurich) [seasonal]

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.

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.

References

External links

* [http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?pagename=subHome&Language=EN_GB&c=Page&SiteName=LPA&cid=1048858940184 Gran Canaria Airport Official Website] - en icon
* [http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?cid=1048858940184&pagename=Estandar%2FPage%2FAeropuerto&SMO=-1&SiteName=LPA&c=Page&MO=0|AENA.es, Gran Canaria Airport Official Website] - es icon
* [http://www.grancanaria.com/patronato_turismo/283.0.html Official Gran Canaria Tourism Website]