César Manrique-Lanzarote AirportCésar Manrique-Lanzarote Airport, airport operator (Aena) website. , commonly known as Lanzarote Airport and also known as Arrecife Airport, is an airport serving the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. The airport is located in San Bartolomé, Las Palmas, southwest of the island's capital, Arrecife. It handles flights to many European airports, with hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, as well as domestic flights to other Spanish airports. It handled 7,350,451 passengers in 2022.

History Early years

In the 1930s, a need for an aerodrome on the island became evident when connections were required with the other islands and the mainland, as well as a refuelling point for aircraft. Subsequently, an airfield was built at Llanos de Guacimeta. The first aircraft to land at the airport was a Junkers Ju 52 EC-DAM on 24 July 1941. The Spanish Air Force then saw a need for a permanent aerodrome for defence purposes, and this was constructed in Arrecife. In 1946, the airport provisionally accepted civil traffic. Improvements were carried out to the existing facilities, with a runway extension and additional ramp space provided.

A new passenger terminal was constructed along with a control centre, and on 3 March 1970 international and domestic flights began using the airport. A centrepiece of the Guacimeta terminal was the mural created by César Manrique entitled Lanzarote.

Development since the 1990s The growing use of the airport called for the need of improved facilities. DME, ILS and VOR facilities were installed for Runway 03/21 along with additional holding points. New runway lighting and a fire station were also commissioned. In 1999, a new passenger terminal opened (Terminal 1), with a capacity of 6 million passengers per annum. Since then, the original passenger terminal has been revamped and is now used for inter-island flights (Terminal 2).

In 2002, in response to interest from both tourists and local people about the island's aviation heritage, Aena decided to use the Guacimeta passenger terminal as an aviation museum. The museum provides a comprehensive and detailed insight into the history of aviation on the island. There are a number of audio-visual presentations.

As a tribute to the legacy left behind by local artist César Manrique, the airport's official name was changed in 2019, coinciding with the centenary of the artist's birth.

Airlines and destinations The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Lanzarote Airport:

Ground transportation There are four bus lines connecting Lanzarote Airport with the rest of the island. The airport is connected via bus lines 22 and 23 to the city of Arrecife, and via lines 161 and 261 to Playa Blanca and Puerto del Carmen.

Statistics Passenger numbers

+ Year Passengers Aircraft movements Cargo (tonnes)20045,517,136 48,446 7,99620055,467,499 47,158 6,62920065,626,087 50,172 6,11420075,625,580 52,968 5,78520085,438,178 53,375 5,43020094,701,669 42,915 4,14720104,938,343 46,669 3,78720115,543,744 49,675 2,87320125,168,775 44,787 2,10820135,334,599 44,259 2,08120145,883,039 49,575 2,05020156,128,971 50,448 1,80520166,684,564 54,632 1,77620177,388,964 59,477 1,8242018 7,327,019 60,955 1,6062019 7,292,720 60,524 1,3462020 2,538,345 30,056 5832021 3,438,219 38,740 4982022 7,350,451 63,764 589 Source: Aena Statistics

Busiest routes + Busiest international routes from ACE (2023) Rank Destination Passengers Change 2021/22 1 Manchester 539,878 17% 2 Dublin 471,037 18% 3 London-Gatwick 456,670 29% 4 London-Stansted 274,965 4% 5 Birmingham 247,796 8% 6 Bristol 246,227 34% 7 East Midlands 227,659 29% 8 Edinburgh 181,460 20% 9 Newcastle 168,813 19% 10 Leeds/Bradford 166,110 10% 11 Glasgow 127,031 12% 12 Cork 121,275 15% 13 Amsterdam 116,328 16% 14 London-Luton 113,481 18% 15 Düsseldorf 101,342 6% 16 Frankfurt 90,194 1% 17 Belfast-International 89,138 12% 18 Paris-Orly 85,114 30% 19 Cologne/Bonn 74,094 59% 20 Brussels 70,400 11% Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo

+ Busiest domestic routes from ACE (2023) Rank Destination Passengers Change 2021/22 1 Gran Canaria 807,811 9% 2 Madrid 635,946 10% 3 Tenerife-North 406,022 4% 4 Barcelona 270,619 19% 5 Santiago de Compostela 134,381 17% 6 Bilbao 133,690 1% 7 Seville 106,457 40% 8 Málaga 67,160 4% 9 Tenerife-South 65,049 76% 10 Valencia 52,847 1% 11 Asturias 41,624 11% 12 Alicante 33,355 24% 13 La Palma 17,028 31% 14 Zaragoza 9,145 5% 15 Vigo 2,118 117% Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo

See also List of airports in Spain

References

External links

Official website