Bilbao Airport

Bilbao Airport
Bilboko aireportua  (Basque)
Aeropuerto de Bilbao  (Spanish)
IATA: BIOICAO: LEBB
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner/Operator Aena
Location Bilbao, Spain
Focus city for
Built 1928
Elevation AMSL 42 m / 137 ft
Coordinates 43°18′04″N 02°54′38″W / 43.30111°N 2.91056°W / 43.30111; -2.91056Coordinates: 43°18′04″N 02°54′38″W / 43.30111°N 2.91056°W / 43.30111; -2.91056
Website www.aena-aeropuertos.es/bilbao/en
Map
BIO

Location of the airport in the Basque Country

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,000 6,562 Asphalt
12/30 2,600 8,530 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 4,277,430
Passenger change '14-'15 Increase6.5%
Aircraft Movements 43,862
Movements change '14-'15 Increase3%
Sources: Passenger Traffic, AENA[1]
Spanish AIP, AENA[2]

Bilbao Airport (IATA: BIO, ICAO: LEBB) is a public airport located 9 km (5.6 mi) north[3] of Bilbao, in the municipality of Loiu, in Biscay. It is the most important airport in the Basque Country and northern Spain, with 4,045,613 passengers in 2011. It is famous for its new main terminal opened in 2000 designed by Santiago Calatrava.

History

After various aeronautic experiments in the province of Biscay, in October 1927 steps were taken by the Union of Public Works to establish an airport in Bilbao. A Provincial Board was created to study the possible location of the airport. It was not until 1936 that the General Aeronautics Management authorised the installation of an airport in Sondika. However, due to the site's many deficiencies, the airport was not considered of interest. Bilbao is surrounded by mountains and a flat valley without significant population had to be found.

The construction works commenced during the Civil War but during this time and until June 1937 the airport was only used as a base for military activities. In 1938, the second stage of the airport's development began. The council resumed procedures with the government to modify the primitive project of 1936 and the drafting of a new project was authorised and later approved by the General Management of Infrastructure.

Bilbao Airport interior
Bilbao Airport finger

In 1940, it was decided by common agreement with the local organisations affected to build a civilian airport in Sondika. The construction works progressed slowly and on 19 September 1948, the airport was at last opened to daytime traffic with the establishment of an air path to Madrid by Aviación y Comercio, SA. Two years later, the terminal, named Carlos Haya after the well-known pilot from Bilbao, began to give service. At this time, the airport had an asphalt runway, the 11/29 (measuring 1,440 by 45 m (4,724 by 148 ft)), another earth runway (measuring 1,500 by 150 m (4,921 by 492 ft)), a taxiway, a passenger terminal, a tower control, a radio beacon, a direction finder as well as police, post office, weather, health, fuel and telephone services. In 1955, a taxiway was built to link the runway with the parking stands and terminal. An apron measuring 124 by 60 m (407 by 197 ft), a hangar for the Royal Flying Club of Vizcaya and permanent facilities for Campsa were also built.

Between 1964 and 1965, an instrumental ILS landing system and a meteorological radio for storm detection were installed; the runway was extended to 2,000 m (6,562 ft) and the apron to 12,000 m2 (130,000 sq ft). In 1975, the runway was surfaced and its orientation became 10/28 due to the change in magnetic declination. In 1977, the parking stand was extended, a link road was built and an ILS system was instaled. The runway 12/30, measuring 2,600 m (8,530 ft) long, was opened the same year and the airport was classified as first category the following year. As a result of the population density of the area, approaching planes may have to fly over the extensive Derio cemetery.

During the eighties, the ILS landing system entered into service for runway 10/28; the communication centre, passenger terminal and parking facilities were enlarged; and a fire service building and cargo terminal were constructed.

On 19 February 1985, an Iberia flight from Madrid crashed into Mount Oiz, all passengers and crew died.

In 1996, a new taxiway with two rapid exits and a new aircraft parking apron were built. The works required the removal of tons of soil poisoned with lindane residues. In May 1999, the new tower control was put into service, which allowed for a more centred vision of the airfield and at the same time facilitated airport operations. On 19 November 2000, a new terminal area was opened in the north zone, consisting of a new terminal building, with a surface area of 32,000 m2 (340,000 sq ft), a car park with 3,000 parking spaces measuring 95,000 m2 (1,020,000 sq ft) and a north apron for aircraft parking to serve the new terminal area.

In February 2009 plans were announced to expand the terminal building, the facilities and the car parking so as to double the current capacity to 8 million passengers. The work was expected be finished in 2014 and cost €114 million but in 2010 the Spanish Government announced the project would be delayed by at least 5 years due to spending cuts and a decline in passenger numbers. [4]

Design of the passenger terminal

The terminal has a sleek design, with two symmetrical "wings" and a sharp tip at its center which is specially visible when approaching the terminal from the sides. This original design has granted the building the nickname of La Paloma ("The Dove").[5] White concrete and glass have been used. The interiors are open and luminous spaces, distributed in two floors, the upper one for departures (check-in counters and gates) and the lower for arrivals.

Control tower

There has been some criticism of Santiago Calatrava's design by Aena, the Spanish airport authority, because it seems difficult to make further enlargements in the terminal's capacity because the design is too closed. In spite of this, modifications took place in 2005-2006 in the check-in area to provide enhanced shopping facilities for travellers, which almost doubled the retail space now being offered.

Users of the airport widely complained about its lack of an arrivals area, since once passengers cleared customs, they stepped directly outside, and there they were often exposed to the elements. The airport built a glass-walled shelter to remedy this problem.[5]

Traffic

The airport has seen a constant increase in its traffic numbers, the old terminal was already saturated and obsolete in 1990, although it had been renewed only a few years earlier. At the present day Bilbao is the most important hub in northern Spain and the number of passengers using the new terminal continues to rise, especially after the increased tourist interest in the city since the opening of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

With the past increase of traffic, the terminal would have become saturated again in a year because it is designed to handle about 4.5 million passengers per year, in 2007 it went nearly to its maximum capacity. However, the global financial crisis of 2008 has reversed the situation as of early 2009, decreasing the number of passengers by 24% in January compared to previous year. In 2014 traffic is on the rise again and will see the recovery of the 4 million passenger mark.[6]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Aer Lingus Seasonal: Dublin
Air Europa Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife–North
Seasonal: Alicante, Fuerteventura, Málaga, Minorca, Almeria
Air France
operated by HOP!
Paris–Charles de Gaulle
British Airways London–Heathrow
Brussels Airlines Brussels
Czech Airlines Seasonal: Prague[7]
easyJet Bristol, London–Stansted, Manchester
Seasonal: Milan–Malpensa
easyJet Switzerland Seasonal: Geneva
Eurowings Düsseldorf
Germanwings Seasonal: Stuttgart
Iberia Madrid
Iberia
operated by Air Nostrum
Alicante, Santiago de Compostela, Valencia, Vigo
Seasonal: Madeira
KLM Amsterdam
KLM
operated by KLM Cityhopper
Amsterdam
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich
Norwegian Air Shuttle Barcelona[8]
Seasonal: Oslo–Gardermoen
Swiss International Air Lines
operated by Swiss Global Air Lines
Zürich
TAP Portugal
operated by Portugália
Lisbon
Turkish Airlines Istanbul–Atatürk
Volotea Seasonal: Venice–Marco Polo
Vueling A Coruña (ends 29 December 2016), Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, London–Gatwick, Málaga, Paris–Orly, Palma de Mallorca, Rome–Fiumicino, Seville, Valencia, Tenerife–North
Seasonal: Berlin–Tegel, Bucharest, Ibiza, Menorca, Milan–Malpensa, Venice–Marco Polo

Statistics

Bilbao Airport Passenger Totals 2000-2015 (millions)
Updated: 16 January 2015.[1] 2015 data provisional.
Passengers Change from previous year Aircraft movements Change from previous year Cargo (tonnes) Change from previous year
2000 2,556,373 Steady 45,506 Steady 4,038 Steady
2001 2,491,770 Decrease2.5% 44,166 Decrease3% 3,674 Decrease9,1%
2002 2,463,698 Decrease1.1% 39,832 Decrease9.9% 3,699 Increase0.6%
2003 2,850,524 Increase15.7% 44,009 Increase10.4% 3,813 Increase3.1%
2004 3.395,773 Increase19.1% 50,361 Increase14.4% 4,152 Increase8.9%
2005 3,843,953 Increase13.2% 56,285 Increase11.8% 3,956 Decrease4.7%
2006 3,876,072 Increase0.8% 58,574 Increase4.1% 3,417 Decrease13.6%
2007 4,286,751 Increase10.6% 63,076 Increase7.7% 3,230 Decrease5.5%
2008 4,172,903 Decrease2.7% 61,682 Decrease2.2% 3,178 Decrease1.1%
2009 3,654,957 Decrease12.4% 54,148 Decrease12.2% 2,691 Decrease15.3%
2010 3,888,969 Increase6.4% 54,119 Decrease0.1 2,547 Decrease5.4%
2011 4,045,613 Increase4.0% 54,432 Increase0.6% 2,633 Increase3.4%
2012 4,171,092 Increase3.1% 50,030 Decrease8.1% 2,663 Increase1.1%
2013 3,800,789 Decrease8.9% 42,683 Decrease14.7% 2,536 Decrease4.8%
2014 4,015,352 Increase5.6% 42,590 Decrease0.2% 2,855 Increase12.6%
2015 4,277,430 Increase6.5% 43,862 Increase3% 2,872 Increase0.6%
Source: Aena Statistics[1]

Top Carriers

Rank Carrier Passengers 2015 % Passenger %
Change 2014
1 Vueling 1,548,507 36.20 Increase 6,49
2 Air Europa 498,380 11.65 Increase 3.63
3 Lufthansa 443,960 10.38 Decrease 2.22
4 Iberia 429,057 10.03 Increase 3.61
5 EasyJet 195,406 4.57 Decrease 11.74
6 Air France 181,545 4.24 Decrease 4.41
7 Air Nostrum 135,567 3.17 Decrease 14.79
8 Brussels Airlines 134.253 3.14 Increase 7.06
9 British Airways132.236 3.09 Increase
10 KLM104.764 2.45 Increase 92.83
Source: Aena Statistics[1]

Busiest routes

Busiest routes from Bilbao Airport – 2015
Rank City Passengers 2015 % Passenger %
Change 2014
1 Madrid, Spain 669,901 15.64 Increase8.48
2 Barcelona, Spain 493,650 11.54 Decrease0,20
3 Munich, Germany 222,363 5.20 Increase0.83
4 Frankfurt, Germany 221,673 5.20 Decrease1.75
5 Palma de Mallorca, Spain 196,385 4.59 Increase3.47
6 Paris–Charles de Gaulle, France 181,545 4.24 Decrease4.43
7 Málaga, Spain 174,061 4.07 Increase3.18
8 London–Heathrow, United Kingdom 157,585 3.68 Increase43.50
9 Seville, Spain 157,484 3.68 Increase3.99
10 Brussels, Belgium 156,483 3.66 Increase24.99
Source: Aena Statistics[1]

Public transport

Incidents & accidents

See also

References

External links

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